S. VII. MARCH 9, 1901.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
199
dealing with the subject, and written correspond-
ence having also, after due deliberation, been
omitted. Long a resident in Tiree, a frequent
traveller in the north-western and central High-
lands, and possessor of a full knowledge of the
spoken language of the people, Mr. Campbell has
escaped most of the difficulties by which his pre-
decessors were beset. A principal cause of error
on the part of previous writers has been, Mr.
Campbell holds, ignorance of Gaelic and Highland
feelings and modes of thought, together with a
habit of thinking in English, and a consequent
inability to " eliminate from their statements
thoughts derived from English or classical litera-
ture, or to keep from confusing with Celtic beliefs
ideas derived from foreign sources and from ana-
logous creeds existing elsewhere." Another matter
of equal importance, on which he does not dwell,
is the fact that his profession and his intimacy
with the Highlanders enabled him to conquer the
reticence of the Celt in talking concerning night
visions and fears. Most of the beliefs mentioned
are familiar to the folk-lorist, and are illustrated
in works dealing with Irish, Welsh, and Manx
superstitions. Especial advantage attends, how-
ever, the authoritative form they assume here.
As a rule, belief in the fairies as still existing,
with which the volume opens, is passed. Peasants
believe, as Chaucer believed five hundred years
ago, that fairies, though once they existed,
have now disappeared. A few people, however,
still think it worth while to take precautions
against them. Fairies seem more mistrusted in
Scotland than in Ireland. Lasting good never
comes of their interference, and we seldom hear
of a peasant becoming enriched, though such
cases are known, by the capture of an elfin bride.
The word sith (pronounced sAee)=peace, is that
from which, on account of the noiselessness of their
movements, the names given to fairies are generally
derived. In size the fairies extend from beings
that can crawl through a keyhole to others capable
of forming nuptial alliances with mankind. With
regard to their stealing of women and children, the
means of detecting fairy changelings by means of
empty egg-shells, &c., the beliefs are the same
as seem generally prevalent in other countries.
Fairies have often some deformity, a frequent
blemish in the fair sex being the existence of but
one nostril. A very interesting series of stories
has been collected, and the volume exercises much
fascination over the reader. On subjects such
as divination, spells, the devil, &c., much interest-
ing information is given. While scientifically
thorough in treatment, the book is indeed admir-
ably suited for general perusal.
VERDI, whose recent decease has removed one of the most notable figures in Italy, occupies a prominent place in the March reviews and magazines. The estimate, naturally, varies little, and most writers draw attention to the separate letters of his name, which in the worst days of Italy made that name a war cry. In the Fortnightly Mr. Cuthbert Hadden pronounces ' Falstaff,' when the age of the composer is taken into account, almost miraculous. Another subject, taboo to us, but generally discussed, is ' The Civil List and the Hereditary Revenues of the Crown.' Departing far from the subjects he ordinarily selects, M. Maurice Maeterlinck, in his ' In the Hive,' gives us a striking and it may almost
said dramatic account of the proceedings of the
queen bee in her destruction of her rivals. This
- orms the fourth chapter of a forthcoming book
)ii ' The Life of the Bee.' We may indeed learn ' some lessons of wisdom," as Isaac Watts would sail them, from the study of this monarchy of bees lessons instructive and edifying, if not wholly consoling. Mr. Stephen Gwynn supplies A Specimen of Mediaeval Irish Poetry,' and Miss Helen Zimmern gives a picture of ' Victor Em- manuel III., King of Italy.' As a rule, the best portion of the contents consists of the articles on }he late Queen, the relations between England and Ireland, South African politics, and the defenceless state of Britain. With these matters we cannot possibly deal beyond commending the essays to the attention and study of our readers. In the Nine- teenth Century Mr. Edvard Grieg contributes the article on Verdi, whom he places, as most would, in front of Bellini and Donizetti, and also of Rossini. He goes so far, indeed, as to class him on the whole side by side with Wagner as " the greatest dramatist of the century." Warm eulogy is be- stowed, but in the ' Falstaff' traces of the influence of age are discovered. Mrs. Margaret L. Woods gives a readable account of that interesting per- sonage Maria Holroyd, best known, we may sup- pose, in connexion with Gibbon. Mr. Henry Arthur Jones writes on 'The Drama in the English Pro- vinces,' against which we have nothing to urge except that "the provinces" is only a slang term employed by that which, by the use of another slang term of its own invention, is called " the profession." York, Lincoln, Nottingham, and Chester are no more provinces than London is a metropolis to them, even if it may be such to Mel- bourne or Brisbane. An earnest playgoer thirty years ago, Mr. Jones noted the decline of the stock company, with its leading men, leading juveniles, leading ladies, and so forth. He has much to say concerning the changes that have subsequently arrived. His chief complaint is that throughout England " the art of the drama only exists as the parasite and hanger-on of popular amusement," and that we have, in fact, no distinct drama at all. Mr. Philip Alexander Bruce gives ' Some American Impressions of Europe,' by which we should do well to profit. The Pall Mall practically opens with what is called ' A Character Study ' of Pope Leo XIII. , by the Vicomte E. M. de Vogue, of the Academie Franaise. The estimate of the Pope is, naturally, high. M. de Vogiie regards him, indeed, as the first man in Europe since the death of William I. of Germany. The illustrations, repre- senting the surroundings of the Pope and proceed- ings, domestic or official, in the Vatican, have abundant interest. ' Men's Dress ' is an amusing article, but will not appeal very directly to the majority of our readers. A description of ' Castle Howard,' the seat of the Earl of Carlisle and the
reat pride of the East Riding, is by Lord Ronald utherland Gower. It will be read with interest, at least by Yorkshiremen, and is admirably illus- trated. There are reproductions of some fine pictures, among which we fail to trace ' The Three Maries'; perhaps it is no longer at Castle Howard. An interview with Paul Kruger reproduces portraits and autograph of the ex-president. It has already attracted much attention, but is outside our limits, as is the ' English and French in Abyssinia ' of Mr. Herbert Vivian. Sir Robert Ball deals trenchantly with the notion of signalling to Mars. Sir Herbert
