James I., and refers his reader to Mr. Rye's volume for further instruction. He does not seem to be aware that there is a contemporary volume exclusively devoted to the topic, viz., Sir John Finet's 'Philoxenis.' The incursion of aliens in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries procures an unsatisfactory notice at Mr. Smith's hands. He has clearly never read the interesting debate on this subject which took place in the House of Commons in 1593, and he seems ill acquainted with the later legislation. We regret that we cannot praise any portion of his book.

History of the Parishes of East and West Ham. By Katharine Fry. Edited and revised by G. Pagenstecher. (Siegle.) - Miss Fry, who was best known as a philanthropist and the kinswoman of the late Elizabeth Fry, was also a patient collector of the history of the village in which she and hers lived so long. The results of her livelong toil have not, like so many private collections, been lost to the public, but have been printed after her death, and form a handsome contribution to the history of a county which has far too little written about it. But though she deserved great credit for her labour of love, we can hardly say quite as much for her editor. The foot-notes sprinkled through the 280 odd pages, though they assume a very

low standard of education among his readers,

are not likely to mprove them; for while, on the one hand, most do not require to be told that a mark was worth 13s. 4d., none surely now believe that "Domesday" is so called from the "'Domus Dei,' as the treasury in which it was kept at Winchester was called." Some of Miss Fry's opinions are questionable. It is hard to see how such statements as this were arrived at: "Progress was not the ordinary result of the first Norman occupation in this part of England"; or, referring to Queen Mary, "How many hearths were made desolate during her short reign!" when she goes on to point out that after all only 300 perished at the stake. Of stray scraps of interest there are several; e. g., on p. 152 we come upon an entry relating to one Wm. de Croton, who in 1311, like several modern convicts, played the amateur detective, and raised tenpence from a certain Mabel, a bakeress who was breaking the then law. Again, on p. 164 we find Kemp, the morrice-dancer, running, or rather waltzing, ten miles across country in three hours; and on p. 192 there is a short and interesting biography of the notorious Dr. Dodd.

The Ussher Memoirs; or, Genealogical Memoirs of the Ussher Families in Ireland (with Appendix, Pedigree, and Index of Names), compiled from Public and Private Sources. By W. B. Wright, M.A. (Dublin, Sealy, Bryers & Walker.)Since Archbishop Ussher's death in 1656 the public have been furnished with a large amount of information concerning himself and his connexions. Two of his chaplains, Nicholas Bernard and Richard Parr, published memoirs of him. His collected works, with a life, account of his writings, and copious genealogical tables, were issued in seventeen volumes octavo in 1864, under the editorship of the late Charles R. Elrington, D.D. The male line of the Usshers represented by the archbishop became extinct on his death as he left but one

child-a daughter. Collateral branches, indeed, were remarkably prolific, but their members failed to attain high eminence in literature, art, or science. Of these persons, not specially in teresting to the public, copious lists are given in the volume before us, compiled by the editor in conjunction with some members of families of the name of Ussher. These lists have been prepared from registries of wills, leases, records of law courts and offices, obituaries in magazines and newspapers, similar sources. The historical portion of the compilation has been mainly borrowed from printed books, in some cases verbatim and without adequate acknowledgments. Among the many mistakes and erroneous assumptions perceptible through

out the volume may be noticed an assertion of the compiler that the famous William Camden visited Ussher in Ireland, a statement for which there is no foundation whatever. Equally misleading is the compiler's allegation that but one copy is known to exist of the first book printed in the Irish character. We look in vain here for a description of the books and manuscripts collected by Archbishop Ussher; nor is the reader supplied with any references to the facsimiles which have been published of some of his writings. It may also be mentioned that the volume does not contain any documentary evidence to invalidate the statements recently published regarding the negotiations which Archbishop Ussher is alleged to have carried on with a view to entering the Roman Catholic Church, of which his mother and many of his relatives were devoted adherents.

Genealogical Memoirs of the Members of Parliament for the County and City of Kilkenny from the Earliest on Record to the Present Time. By George D. Burtchaell, M.A. (Dublin, Sealy, Bryers & Walker.) - The compiler of this volume states in his preface that it is based upon a series of papers which he contributed to a local journal, bringing the history of the members of Parliament for the county, city, and boroughs of Kilkenny down to the period of the Union. To those who are conversant with local matters this publication may prove of interest, but for others its usefulness is impaired by the entire absence of specific references verificatory of the statements throughout its pages. In this direction the "list of authorities" printed at the end furnishes little practical aid, as there are no indications supplied to connect the titles in it with the matters mentioned in the various parts of the book.

SCHOOL-BOOKS.

The Seven against Thebes of Æschylus. With an Introduction and Notes (School Edition) by A. W. Verrall, Litt.D., and M. A. Bayfield, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)-We heard with some apprehension that Dr. Verrall had been asked to produce for schools a work based on his large edition of 'The Seven against Thebes.' In a notice of the original work we expressed our admiration of Dr. Verrall's thoroughness and his brilliant ingenuity, while we gave reasons for disapproving of most of the innovations which he introduced. There is no need now to slay the slain, but we regret that during the interval Dr. Verrall has not seen his way to a more comprehensive modification of his peculiar views,

and we must protest against schoolboys being

troubled with controversies which are apparently far from settlement. They should have been spared, for instance, the horrible full stop at the end of the first line of the play, and Dr. Verrall's, not Æschylus's, "grim play" upon ἐσθήμασι and ἐσθήματα, νν. 263-265. To those, however, who study under a teacher capable of discriminating between what is sound and what is unsound in the commentary, this edition may prove useful and instructive.

Elementary Classics. - Stories from Aulus Gellius: being Selections and Adaptations from the Noctes Atticce. Edited, with Notes, Exercises, and Vocabularies for the Use of Lower Forms, by the Rev. G. H. Nall, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.) - The story of Androclus and the lion is by itself almost enough to reconcile us to the idea of introducing Gellius into schools in spite of his wretched Latinity, yet we think there were enough reading-books before Mr. Nall had recourse to the 'Noctes Atticæ.' Boys who use this book must not be scolded for making the o of nota, sb., long instead of short, or for rendering muliebribus iris, § IV., "womanly angers, or for calling valetudine integra an ablative absolute in the phrase vixit." The statement that niger means "shining black," p. 48, demands qualification. However, the vocabularies and notes are generally good;

omnem fere vitam v. i.

the exercises for retranslation into Latin are excellent.

English Verse. Selected and arranged by E. W. Howson, M.A. (Rivingtons.) This is a nice selection of poetry for schoolboys. Of course there are pieces here which we should not have selected, and some absent we should have given, had we had the picking. We should have chosen some other sonnet of Shakspeare's, and for 'My Brother's Grave' of Moultrie we should have substituted 'My Mother's Grave of Praed. The notes might be improved. Why explain "Egmont's Flemish spears" and leave "Appenzel's stout infantry" unnoticed? The mistake in the original note to 'Childe Harold about the Duchess of Richmond's ball should not have been repeated.

Shakespeare: The Tragedy of King Richard III. With an Introduction and Notes by C. H. Tawney, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.) - Shakespeare: The Life of Henry V. With an Introduction and Notes by K. Deighton, M.A. (Same publishers.)

These editions of plays of Shakspeare have been specially prepared for the use of Indian university students. It may be safely affirmed that they will be found of service by English learners. Mr. Tawney's 'Richard III.," besides being founded on a careful study of the best authorities, is the more practical, the editor having especial pains to explain the meaning of all passages likely to present any difficulty, and supplied the additional information necessary to a full understanding of the text. Mr. Deighton's notes abound in illustration rather than explanation, and contain numerous quotations from Shakspeare and his temporaries resembling the text in thought or phraseology. Attention is also called to the derivation of words, and whatever throws light upon the play. The introduction contains an outline of the action, a just estimate of the

con

principal character, and portions of history bearing upon the work.

German Examination Papers in Grammar and Idioms, &c. By A. R. Lechner. (Rivingtons.> -Key to German Examination Papers. (Same author and publishers.)-These papers do not consist of questions that have been set at previous examinations, but have been drawn up with a view to call the student's attention to the main peculiarities of the language, especially such as are apt to be overlooked, with serious results. The questions, which embrace the whole of the grammar and numerous idioms, are carefully graduated, and involve points on which experience has shown there is great lia bility to error. The key, if rightly used according to the author's directions, will be found of great service to those who do not enjoy the advantage of competent revision.

Das Bild des Kaisers. Von W. Hauff. Edited

by Karl Breul. (Cambridge, University Press.) - It may be doubted whether the University of Cambridge was well advised in choosing for its Local Examinations Hauff's tale, full of German politics, which have no interest for English schoolboys; but apparently it is thought necessary to be constantly choosing new books that new editions may appear at the Pitt Press. Dr. Breul's notes are excellent, but his sketch of Napoleon's life is a chauvinistic production. Such is Dr. Breul's patriotism that he will hardly admit that the Prussians were beaten at Ligny.

L'Abbé Constantin. Par Ludovic Halévy, de l'Académie Française. Edited, with Preface, Biographical Sketch, Grammatical and Explanatory Notes, by George Petilleau, B.A. (Hachette & Co.)-M. Halévy's dramatic story having been appointed as a subject for the Oxford Local

Examination, M. Petilleau, an experienced teacher of Fre

French, has prepared this edition of it

for the use of candidates, who will find it to their advantage to avail themselves of his aid. The work may prove useful to schoolboys generally. For English students the work has the advantage of abounding in French idiom of the present time, which is aptly represented in the notes by corresponding English idiom. The editor would have done well to give literal as well as idiomatic renderings. He has increased the instructiveness of the work by explaining the etymology of words, and furnishing examples of idiomatic use of the same word in various senses. The printing is far from good, and the sheets in this copy have been put together in such haphazard fashion as to produce inconvenient perplexity in the paging, which is often scarcely legible as well as erroneous.

BOOKS OF TRAVEL.

MISS SHELDON'S prettily printed volume is calculated to place the proverbial self-reliance and independence of American girls in their most attractive light. However, the adventures recorded in Yankee Girls in Zulu Land (Trübner & Co.) do not fully realize expectations raised by a pictorial cover displaying three Zulus rampant, brandishing a chevaux de frise of assegais; and it may reasonably be doubted whether the "Louise," "Eva," and "Frank," who set off from London to Griqua Land in quest of better climate in the jaunty manner described in a rather unpromising opening chapter, are "Yankees" in very truth, since they failed to grate the ears of the Dean of Grahamstown with a touch of that "rasping twang" for which he was confessedly listening. But American these young ladies certainly are, and no one can read this most genial story of their African travels in search of health without wishing it were more possible and common for

girls of all nationalities to enjoy themselves after a similarly robust and improving fashion. The Misses Sheldon's first long halt after reaching the Cape Colony was made at Kimberley. Here they rented a roomy cottage, where with a trusty Scotch housekeeper, and a fine Newfoundland dog as body-guard, they lived pleasantly for ten months, gradually picking up information which is embodied in a concisely intelligent account of the various industries connected with the diamond mines, and joining heartily in the social pleasures of the neighbourhood, which are described as of no contemptible order. Their only unpleasant experience would seem to have been a burglary at their cottage one night when the dog had surreptitiously followed his mistresses to a party instead of remaining at home to guard their goods and chattels. Every room was ransacked, and every valuable not deposited in the safe carried off. But, adds the author, we did not let it frighten us." A briefer and yet more enjoyable episode of these years spent in Africa was a six weeks' tour in an ox-waggon, made after the trio had become a quartet through the marriage of one sister at Grahamstown, without which augmentation the enterprise would have been scarcely practicable even to Young America. Four black boys, a maid, and two dogs formed the establishment, and a waggon twenty-three feet long, divided into two compartments, the nomadic dwelling. The Orange Free State traversed in this manner, and the narrator writes fervently of the happiness of that journey-"free from society, anxiety, and propriety; no one to dress for, nor to come suddenly upon us, and disturb our calm existence." An excellent feature in this little book is its freedom from flippancy. The work is slight, but by no means unedifying reading for young people; and the numerous vignette illustrations, after sketches made en route by one of the sisters, are quite charming.

was

MR. C. EDWARDES, the author of Rides and Studies in the Canary Islands (Fisher Unwin), reached Santa Cruz at the end of March last year, and the results of his experiences during a brief visit of two months' duration to three of the islands, Tenerife, Palma, and Grand Canary, were shortly afterwards given to the public in the pages of the Cornhill, Temple Bar, Graphic, and other journals. Collected in an unpretending volume, these articles afford some pleasant

reading; but appearing as they do so soon after Mrs. Stone's larger work, which covers far more ground, it is not to be expected that any new information can be found in them. Mrs. Stone, if we remember rightly, complained before starting on her trip that she had difficulty in finding books on the Canary Islands; while Mr. Edwardes, on the contrary, states that he had read and digested a quantity of literature about the archipelago. "Scores," he writes, "of learned and unlearned men, lay and ecclesiastic, have, centuries ago, preceded me in this work." Whilst Mrs. Stone on her return based her investigations on the record of that famous old voyager Capt. George Glas, Mr. Edwardes relies on "the Abbé Viera, who, a hundred years ago, unravelled the tangle of Canarian history." It would be kind of authors to give the full titles of old books into which they dip. Mr. Major edited, some sixteen years since, a good account of Messire de Bethencourt's conquest and conversion of the Canarians, translated from Boutier and Le Verrier; yet we should have enjoyed hearing more of Mr. Edwardes's researches in the pages of the 'Noticias de la Historia General de las Islas de Canaria, el Origen y Costumbres de sus Antiguos Habitantes,' to be found in the four quarto volumes of Joseph de Viera y Clavijo, which we presume are the books referred to. The illustrations are reproduced from photographs by a process which renders them dull in appearance, and thereby does injustice to the brilliant atmosphere of the Fortunate Islands.

We have received from Messrs. Longman & Co. Notes of my Journey round the World, by Mr. Evelyn Cecil, a work on which there is absolutely nothing to be said except that it is not written in a particularly good style, the English being feeble throughout. The author followed the usual route through Canada, the Western States, Japan, Ceylon, India, and Egypt. He kept his eyes open and asked questions, but does not make a single original observation or tell anything that everybody did not know before.

OUR LIBRARY TABLE.

THE Committee of the Society of Authors have published a report made to them by Mr. Colles under the title Literature and the Pension List, which will be found interesting. The volume contains a complete list of all those who have received Civil List pensions during the presentreign, and and an an investigation investigation into the principles upon the

of the grant has been based

and those upon which it should be based. It is curious, however, that in making his analysis Mr. Colles seems to have left out of his "Class A. Men and Women of Letters rewarded by Pensions" the very first name in the pension list of the present reign, certainly not the least distinguished, that of Lady Morgan.

MESSRS. HACHETTE & Co. send us Les Grandes Fortunes aux États-Unis et en Angleterre, by M. de Varigny, a volume which we cannot much recommend, for while, no doubt, it was difficult for the writer to give anything like a full view of all the great fortunes of England and America, the present work contains serious errors. It is rather odd to find the Gladstone family figuring as "merchant princes," as we fancy that a great number of Liverpool names would be better known in the financial world. Mr. Gladstone's own fortune is, we believe, chiefly in right of his wife.

little, and against which they were often working. The Empress appears also as having her own policy and her own advisers, and France was thus handicapped in the struggle against Cavour, who, with the support of England, beat the French Government at every point except as to the annexation of Savoy and Nice-a defeat which, however, seems only to have hastened his revenge at Naples. M. Thouvenel's book shows the Duc de Gramont in the light of a very unsparing critic of his Emperor's tenderness for England, and it contains in one of his letters a most painful libel upon a well-known Italian correspondent of the Times, whose identity is feebly veiled by giving only the initial of his name. There are a few misprints in the English and American names, and the late Lord Clarendon is described as British Ambassador in Italy at a time when he was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Mr. Gladstone's first administration.

We have received from Herr Wilhelm Friedrich, of Leipzig, Zwei Jahrzehnte Deutscher Politik: Die Gegenwärtige Weltlage, by Prof. Eduard von Hartmann. The volume is full of solemn warnings to England with regard to her military position. The author is the well-known philosopher, but he has given much time to studies upon such questions of the day as modern religions and European politics. His present book is a collection of articles which have appeared in the last nineteen years in various reviews. Among these is a very thorough examination of the principles upon which the has in view the establishment of a customs alliances of Germany rest. Herr von Hartmann union between the powers of Central Europe with high duties against the rest of the world.

THE first volume of Blackie's Modern Cyclopedia of Universal Information, edited by Dr. Annandale (Blackie & Son), promises to suit the wants of a large and increasing section of the public. It is not a work for the libraries of the wealthy like the 'Encyclopædia Britannica.' It has not the scientific pretensions of 'Chambers's Encyclopædia,' especially of the new edition of Chambers; on the other hand, it gives more copious information than Beeton's, with which, although dearer, it may be more properly compared. It is well printed on good paper, and the articles are short and usually concise. The tone is generally sensible and the matter is usually sound. For instance, we are glad to see that Dr. Annandale gives no countenance to the Bacon craze. There are, of course, several slight slips; for example, Anspach was not ceded to France by Prussia in 1806; Austria did not "join with the German states in the spoliation of Denmark"; Denmark"; nobody now supposes the Bayeux Tapestry" "to have been worked by Matilda, queen of William the Conqueror"; Belgium was not "united by the Treaty of Paris to Holland." The illustrations are often good; but sentimental ones like 'The Field of Agincourt,' or portraits like that of the Prince Consort, are of no utility; and a page is wasted on an old woodcut maps are too small to be worth consulting. The articles on scientific matters seem to be accurate, though often the terminology is a little antiquated. The number of generic headings will probably be found useful. On the whole, the editor may be congratulated on having performed an exceedingly difficult task so far satisfactorily. If we might offer a suggestion it would be that the longer articles should be arranged with a stricter regard to logical sequence. An example will In the article make clear what we mean. "Armour" the writer tells his readers that the Normans wore mail before he has explained to them what mail is.

of the Alhambra. The

We have on our table Life of John Stuart Mill, by W. L. Courtney (Scott), The School Pronouncer, based on Webster's Unabridged DicFronouncer, tionary, by W. H. P. Phyfe (Putnam),-Passages for Translation into Greek, by by J. J. Y. Sargent

Analytic Geometry, by J. D. Runkle (Boston, U.S., Ginn), The Music of the Waters, by Laura A. Smith (Kegan Paul), -The Bread and Biscuit Baker's and Sugar-Boiler's Assistant, by R. Wells (Lockwood), -The Earls of the Village, by A. Giberne (Shaw), -Digger Dick's Darling, and other Tales, by Mrs. A. Blitz (Ward & Lock), Young Maids and Old, by Clara L. Burnham (Trübner), Texas Siftings Afloat, by J. A. Knox ('Texas Siftings' Office), - The White Elephant, by W. Dalton (Griffith & Farran), -Irish Dialect Recitations, edited by G. M. Baker (Routledge), -The Construction and Types of Shakespeare's Verse as seen in the Othello, by T. R. Price (New York, Shakespeare Society), -The Sphinx, and other Poems, by A. A. D. Bayldon (Hull, Tutin), A Sheaf of Sonnets, by J. M. W. Schwartz (Remington), -Bertram, the Prince (Philadelphia, U.S., the Author), -Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, in Three Acts, by A. Whinyates (Dean),--Visions of the Night in Ballad and Song, by W. H. Seal (Kegan Paul), -Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf, by Mrs. M. C. Hime (Simpkin), -Sonnets, by L. M. Gipps (Stott), - Rebel Rhymes, and other Poems, by E. J. Hereford (Putnam), Mary of Nazareth, a Legendary Poem in Three Parts, by Sir John Croker Barrow, Bart., Part I. (Burns & Oates), -The First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians, with Notes by the Rev. M. F. Sadler (Bell),-Christian Reunion, by the Rev. John de Soyres (St. John, New Brunswick, McMillan), -Jesus Christ, the Divine Man, by J. F. Vallings (Nisbet), - Every Morning, by J. Parker, D.D. (Burnet), - Le Livre des Vingt et un, by Jules Simon and others (Paris, C. Lévy),Corinto e la Tirannide dei Cipselidi, by L. Oberziner (Trento, Monauni), - Le Château des Anges, by L. Enault (Hachette), -Czary Dworze Batorego, by A. Kraushara (Cracow, Gebethner), - Un Drame de la Mer, by A. Dumas, with Explanatory Notes by the Rev. A. C. Clapin (Hachette), and Die Ortsgottheiten in der Griechischen und Römischen Kunst, by O. Schultz (Williams & Norgate).

LIST OF NEW BOOKS,

ENGLISH, Theology.

na

Morley, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl.

Guide to Schools, Homes, and Refuges in England for the
Benefit of Girls and Women, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl.

Linklater's (Rev. R.) Sunday and Recreation, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl.
Marsh's (J. B.) Lady Godiva, a Story of Saxon England, 6/
Rees's (J. R.) Brotherhood of Letters, 12mo. 4/6 cl.
Smetham's (H.) Sketches, Prose and Rhyme, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl.
Symons's (A.) Days and Nights, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl.
Vogel's (Sir J.) Anno Domini 2000, or Woman's Destiny, 6/
Whitty's (B.) The Awakening of Mary Fenwick, 3 vols. 31/6
Wilson's (F. J.) House that Jack Built in Diversified Con-
sideration, 8vo. 3/6 cl.

LEIGH HUNT AND CHARLES LAMB.
Athenæum Club, March 11, 1889.

I UNDERSTAND that in a recent lecture on

Leigh Hunt, Mr. Edmund Gosse announced, as a hitherto unpublished fact connected with that writer, that the famous libel in the Examiner on the Prince Regent, for which the brothers Hunt suffered two years' imprisonment, was written by neither of them, but by Charles Lamb. It would be interesting to trace the foundation for this report. In his autobiography Leigh Hunt expressly asserts that he was himself the writer, and his statement is the more noteworthy because he is there distinguishing his own responsibility as author of the article from that of his brother, whose only share in the libel was that of publisher.

In the next place the article exhibits no trace whatever, in matter or manner, of the style of Charles Lamb-a style, we all know, one of the most individual and unmistakable in all litera

ture.

I must confess that the story, if only for these two reasons, seems to me open to grave suspicion. Perhaps it may appear "sentimental" further to urge that the devotion of Charles and Mary Lamb to Leigh Hunt during his imprisonment-visiting him, Hunt tells us, in all weathers-and the tender lines addressed by Lamb to young Thornton Hunt, pursuing his childish sports in prison, have a very disagreeable and even painful side to them if it was Lamb who was primarily guilty of the offence for which his friend was being punished. Possibly some of your many readers may have some light to throw on the subject. ALFRED AINGER.

NOTES FROM OXFORD.

March, 1889.

THE proposal to which allusion was made in these notes last December, for the erection of additional buildings in connexion with the University Galleries, has now, I am glad to say, received the assent of Convocation. A sum of 3,000l. has been voted for the purpose, and the work will be put in hand without delay. When it is completed we shall, at least, be able to exhibit effectively and properly the various collections which are at present crowded together in a most unseemly fashion. Our next business must be to find room beside these collections for others nearly connected with them belonging to the University-above all, for those now in the Ashmolean Museum-and thus to make the University Galleries really worthy of their name.

Thanks to the liberality of those who manage the Common University Fund, Prof. Gardner has been able to lay the foundations of a good goou working archæological library, and Convocation will be asked this week to grant him a sum of 200l. for the same purpose. Another important task, that of drawing up a clear and complete catalogue of the varied contents of the galleries, is receiving the serious attention of the Curators, and it is hoped that before very long some parts, at least, of such a catalogue may be ready for use. Complaints have often been made, and with some reason, of the ignorance prevailing even among the senior resident members of the University of the working, the actual condition, and even the contents of important University Un institutions. A recent statute seems likely, at least, to deprive us of any excuse for such ignorance in the future by enacting that the managing authorities of such institutions shall annually publish and present to the University full reports of what has been done during the year. These reports, if well done-and their compilers have an excellent model ready to hand in those drawn up by the Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum for the benefit, primarily, of the visitors of that museum-should not only diffuse a more accurate knowledge of the accumulated treasures which we possess, and awaken a more active and intelligent interest in them, but should also gradually form an important contribution to the history of the University.

On Saturday last a meeting of some of those who signed the anti-examination protest was held in Wadham College, Mr. Auberon Herbert being present, and a committee was appointed, presumably to decide on the line of action to be adopted. Its task, if this is so, will be arduous enough, for general as the discontent is with the existing examination system, we are as yet a long way off any kind of agreement as to a constructive policy of reform. In the opinion of many good judges, a necessary preliminary to any effective reform is the diffusion of truer views of the proper nature of a university, as something else than a magnified public school. Every encourageme given to freedom of study and to independent research must in the end weaken the hold which purely scholastic methods of teaching have gained here, and so indirectly lessen the importance of that system of examinations which is inseparably bound up with thera. If once the prestige now attached to success in examinations can be seriously diminished, the examinations themselves will become less harmful as they become less important, and will lend form. themselves more easily to real and lasting re

The resignation by Miss Lefevre of her post as Principal of Somerville Hall has been already noticed in these columns. For nearly ten years she has ungrudgingly given all her time and energy to the management of the Hall. The success it has obtained and the place it has won for itself in Oxford are mainly due to her devotion, her wide sympathies and ready tact. It will be no easy matter for the council to find an equally loyal and efficient successor in a somewhat difficult post. P.

WATER-MARKS.

23, Abchurch Lane, E.C.

THERE is among bibliographers a temptation to exaggerate the use and importance of watermarks as evidence of the date of undated documents. Even if we confine the question to modern paper, where the date often forms part of the water-mark, we must be very careful; for it was, and doubtless still is, the custom for paper-makers to postdate paper made in the latter part of the year by several months, just as many books published at Michaelmas bear the date of the next year. I do not think any paper has a dated water-mark earlier than the last quarter of the seventeenth century. The water-mark case in France referred to is not stated quite accurately. There were two letters signed "Wilson," both dated 1884, and M. Blanchet the paper-maker gave evidence as to the date when the paper was made. He declared it could not have been made before July, 1885, because the paper supplied by his firm to the Chamber of Deputies had at first the name B. F. K. Rives as water-mark in script letters; later the same name was used, only in roman capitals: both these on laid paper. On July 29th, 1885, the same name was used, but on wove paper. The Wilson letters were on wove paper, and therefore forgeries (Union de la Papeterie, Jan. and Févν., 1888).

But many writers claim that water-marks in fourteenth and fifteenth century books may be utilized as evidence of the place where and the date when they were produced. This is very fallacious. M. Briquet is of this opinion, and quotes several wrongly dated books in illustration; but in no case does he prove it. He quotes the well-known 'Exposicio, the first book printed at Oxford, with the date 1468 instead of 1478; but here the water-marks are utterly useless to prove anything. Nearly all our English fifteenth century books, until W. de Worde used John Tate's paper c. 1494, were printed on paper from the Lowlands. This paper, like the imported ink, was none of the best, so that Caxton had to sort his sheets in order to secure

some kind of uniformity as to thickness. From this cause we find a great variety of watermarks, sometimes as many as fifteen in one book, representing, in all probability, the makes of many mills through many years. What was there to hinder maker ex

a

porting his old stock of paper? and what was there to prevent this old stock becoming still older before the printer used it? And if paper might remain for an indefinite period unused, where is the chronological value of its water-mark? In this sense their evidence is

almost worthless; but in another way they are of the highest importance to all bibliographers. There was some discussion a few months ago in the Atheneum as to the sizes of books, especially the Shakespeare and Jonson folios. In determining that question the watermarks are the only true and natural test, as with your permission I will explain next week. WILLIAM BLADES.

67, Granville Park, Blackheath, March 5, 1889.

In the Athenœum of March 2nd the remark is made that "water-marks are not known to

the East; they are a distinctly European improvement upon an art borrowed from the Arabs." I wish to say that the Chinese have now, and for a long time past have had, the art of water-marking paper, notably for the money or cash notes issued by the bankers and moneychangers; it is possible, and I should say probable, that the Arabs borrowed the art from the Chinese. I have several examples of this water-marked paper obtained by myself in China, the water-mark in these cases being generally the name of the bank or shop issuing the note. The mark is distinct and clear, as the purpose is to prevent fraud. Other paper than the above is also occasionally marked. I shall be obliged if you will give this note a place in your columns as an addition to the interesting review of M. Briquet's work. WM. LOCKHART.

MAJOR-GENERAL W. NASSAU LEES, LL.D., PH.D.

DURING the past week the death has been announced of General Nassau Lees, long ago known in India as an Orientalist of high reputation. So remarkable were his tastes and acquirements in Eastern lore that at certain periods of his service he filled the several appointments of Principal of the Calcutta College (Madrasah); examiner in the Persian and Arabic languages and Muhammadan law; Persian translator to Government; professor of law, logic, literature, and mathematics; and, when |

requisite, responsible referee on the language qualifications of civil and military officers. He was the fourth and youngest son of the Rev. Sir Harcourt Lees, whose father, the first baronet, had earned great distinction with the British troops in Germany under the Marquis of Granby. Entering the Bengal army in 1845 at the age of twenty, Nassau Lees attained the rank of colonel thirty odd years later, and was placed on the unemployed supernumerary list shortly before promotion to major-general. By this time, however, he had moved much in society at home, and many years before his decease his figure had become familiar in the London clubs he specially affected and other social circles. A strong Conservative in politics, he twice sought election to Parliament, but was

unsuccessful on each occasion. The Arabic publication for which his memory will be more particularly honoured by scholars is, perhaps, the 'Commentary' of Az-Zamakhshari, so much esteemed among Sunnís. Of those devoted to Persian authors, the 'Nafahátu 'l-Uns' of Jámí (a notice of celebrated Sufis and saints modernized from an older chronicle), and the interesting 'Vís u Rámín' of Fakhru 'd-dín As'ad Jurjáni, which Dr. Rieu describes as "the poetical version of a romance originally written in Pehlevi," are worthy the attention of both scholars and dilettanti.

Besides the above, there are in the Royal Asiatic Society's library the 'A'aris i Buzurgán' (A. D. 1855), or an obituary notice of Muhammadan doctors, edited by W. Nassau Lees and Maulavi Kabiru 'd-dín Ahmad; the 'History of the Khalifs' (A.D. 1856), by Abu'l Fadhl 'Abdu'lRahman Jalálu 'd-din bin Abi Bakr us-Suyúti, with (same year) a 'Book of Anecdotes, Wonders, Pleasantries, Rarities, and Useful Extracts,' by Al Kulyúbi, with both of which Nassau Lees had to do; and (A D. 1868) the ' Alamgírnámah,' by Muhammad Kazim Ibn i Muhammad Amín

even a well-articulated skeleton, of what was
probably the finest body of criticism ever pro-
duced by Coleridge. He had never, perhaps,
attempted-I do not say contemplated-any-
thing so comprehensive, and never, according to
contemporary accounts, had he succeeded so
brilliantly. A slight addition to the meagre
record was made in 1870 by the publication in
Notes and Queries (Fourth Series, v. 335-6) of
some notes taken down at the lectures of
January 27th and February 6th by a Mr.
Henry Holgate Carwardine, which notes have
been partially reprinted in Mr. Ashe's collection
of Coleridge's 'Lectures and Notes on Shake-
speare,' &c. (Bell, 1883). It was with great
satisfaction that when turning over lately a
volume of Leigh Hunt's Tatler I found some
notes of Lectures IX. and XIV., contributed
by an anonymous correspondent who had been
a listener. As the Tatler is the least known of
Hunt's many periodical ventures, and so rare
that few even of the professed collectors of his
works possess a set, its contents are, for all
practical purposes, buried rather than preserved.
I therefore ask leave to resuscitate these re-
ports of Coleridge's lectures in the pages of the
Atheneum, "that nothing be lost." I have
ventured to add a few foot-notes, thinking they
may be serviceable to students of Coleridge.
J. DYKES CAMPBELL.

(Lecture XIV. of Course of 1818, from the
Tatler for May 23, 1831.)

PROGRESSIVE CHANGES IN ENGLISH PROSE-
WRITING.

[About thirteen years ago, Mr. Coleridge delivered a series of Lectures on various subjects at the room of the Philosophical Society in Fetter Lane. The following are recollections of one of them, from a few notes made at the time, by one of his auditors, who felt too highly gratified with what he heard, not to be desirous of

and 'Abdu'l-Hai, "under the superintendence of Major W. N. Lees, LL.D."

Not the least remarkable of his many contributions to serial literature is an article called 'Materials for the History of India for the 600 Years of Muhammadan Rule previous to the Foundation of the British Indian Empire.' This appeared in the second part of vol. iii. of the Asiatic Society's Journal, published in 1868, and, although written more than twenty years ago, it opens with a thoughtful review of the relations of the natives of India to their English superiors, which might be studied with advantage at the present day. The information contained in the body of the paper is of a very valuable kind, and if only the impetus to Asiatic

research and the study of Oriental tongues, which recent action on the part of the London Asiatic Society Soc was intended to give, were sufficiently real to culminate in revival, its republication, with some additions and modifications, mo would

be desirable.

There is no doubt that in the person of the deceased officer an Orientalist has passed away from among us who can ill be spared at a time when the loss of an English-Arabic scholar is not easily replaced.

COLERIDGE'S LECTURES IN 1818.

I.

IN January, February, and March, 1818, Coleridge delivered, at the rooms of the Philosophical Society in Fetter Lane, a series of lectures of which a deplorably scanty record is all that remains to us. A few preparatory notes of his own, a few jottings taken down from his lips by friends who attended the course-these, pieced out with some marginalia on the authors mentioned in the syllabus, were piously swept together by Mr. H. N. N. Coleridge, and printed ned in the first volume of the 'Remains' (pp. 61241) under the heading of "Course of Lectures." But the result was necessarily a mere ghost, not

sketch conveys a very inadequate idea of the Lecture itself, and is offered to the reader as the crude and imperfect attempt of an unprofessional and unpractised hand. It is to be regretted that the series has never been published by the author.]

The influence of national character on language is exemplified in the literature of the Eastern nations, in that of the Greeks, of our own and of the Northern nations.

The Greek writings are distinguished by long

sentences, formed, as it were, architecturally; each part is built on the preceding; and the whole sentence would lose by changing the arrangement. The modern construction among ourselves is more simple. The sentences are short, but preserve a consistency with each

other. Such is the prose-writing of Chaucer.*

A more popular style followed; but the confusion resulting from the civil wars prevents us from seeing the transition. In Luther we have a striking example of the popular style, popular in the highest sense of the term, addressing the intellect of the reader, and readily understood wherever good sense is the habit of the mind. A similar style, with less genius, may be found in Latimer and other writers of Edward VI.'s time and the preceding reign.†

After the Restoration came the classic style. A true relish of this style presupposed a taste and cultivation in the reader somewhat corresponding to it, for it was too learned to be popular. Boccaccio it is true was popular; but we can account for the exception in him by the fascination of his subjects. Hooker, Bacon, Milton, and Jeremy Taylor are distinguished ornaments of the classic style.