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THE SPRING PUBLISHING SEASON.

MESSRS. HODDER & STOUGHTON'S spring list includes 'Impressions of Australia,' by the Rev. Dr. R. W. Dale, - ' A Window in Thrums,' by Mr. J. M. Barrie, author of 'Auld Licht Idylls,' - Unknown Switzerland,' by M. Victor Tissot, translated by Mrs. Wilson, - ' Captain Lobe: a Story of the Salvation Army,' by Mr. J. Law, author of 'Out of Work,'- 'Toilers in London; or, Inquiries concerning Female Labour in the Metropolis,' by the "British Weekly Commissioner," The Epistles of St. John,' by the Bishop of Derry, -' Outlines of Christian Doctrine,' by the Rev. H. C. G. Moule, - 'The Book

of Revelation, by the Rev. Prof. Milligan, 'The First Epistle to the Corinthians,' by the Rev. Dr. Marcus Dods, - ' The Language of the New Testament,' by the Rev. W. H. Simcox, 'The Threshold of Manhood: a Young Man's Words to Young Men,' by the Rev. W. J. Dawson, the third volume of 'The Sermon

Bible,' and a new edition of 'The Coming Prince,' by Dr. Robert Anderson, Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Messrs. Roper & Drowley's announcements of

forthcoming one-volume novels comprise 'An

struther's Wife, by Josephine Michell, 'Angèle's Tempters,' by Isaac Teller, - and 'Skill wins Favour,' by Mrs. George Elliott Kent, author of 'Darkened at Noontide,' &c.

THE HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS COMMISSION.

THE RUTLAND PAPERS.

PERHAPS few more interesting adventures have befallen an antiquary in these days of commonplace research than that which is described by the present Deputy-Keeper of the Records in the preface to his report on the archives of Belvoir Castle. If any one were told that he must present himself, as though on an ordinary mission, at the gates of an historical mansion, and there, without permitting himself to be tempted by the display of various manuscript treasures, search forthwith for a certain key bearing an enigmatical inscription, and that, armed with this key, he must find and open a certain door giving access to a long disused stable-loft, which harboured "a vast mass of old papers," including a unique letter of Warwick "the Kingmaker, despatches penned by Edward IV. and Clarence from the field of Tewkesbury, unlimited gossip respecting Dorothy Vernon's ancestors and contemporaries, and enough his torical material besides to fill the best part of three printed volumes, he would undoubtedly conclude either that his informant was mad, or that he had lapsed himself into one of the vain day-dreams of the Inspector of Historical Manuscripts. None the less this very adventure befell Mr. Maxwell Lyte, and is authenticated by an excellent facsimile of a document

the existence of which in such a spot would hardly have been suggested by the wildest dream of an enthusiast. It is, perhaps, disappointing to be compelled to add that the discovery of "the Kingmaker's" autograph and the other important documents referred to above was not due to any method of occultism, but to a calm and successful process of induction.

The first instalment of the Report which has resulted from this brilliant piece of historical discovery naturally contains the earlier and probably more interesting portion of the Belvoir manuscripts. The period which is admirably illustrated on its social side by the Paston letters and some other unpublished and comparatively unknown correspondence is far less rich in royal letters and State Papers proper, and therefore every one of those previous to 1485 printed here has a distinctive value and interest. These are all addressed to Henry Vernon of Haddon, "a prudent courtier who seems to have found favour with Lancastrians and Yorkists in turn," and who might well have sat for the portrait of Sir Daniel Brackley in Mr. Louis Stevenson's 'Black Arrow.' This astute gentleman was at length released from his political anxieties by the supremacy of the Red Rose, and we next encounter him as an accomplished courtier, much in request as a dignified official on occasions of state. We must venture to differ here from the editor's reading of two passages in which, instead of negligence being imputed to Sir Henry Vernon in his charge of the prince, he appears to us to have been almost anxiously commended by Henry VII., who deprecates his possible resignation of that post. It is true that he does not seem to have been comptroller of the prince's household at the latter's death, since he does not figure amongst the officers entitled to the customary mourning garments. He was, however, at this time employed in superintending the preparations for Princess Margaret's journey to Scotland as a bride who was required to put off mourning (the editor perhaps misses the point) for her mother

on this occasion.

There are a few interesting papers of the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI.; but by far the most important section of this Report remaining to be noticed is that which is devoted to the political and private correspondence of the Manners family during the reign of Elizabeth. Here, as in the case of the last instalment of the

Cecil Papers published by the Commission, we have an invaluable contribution towards the yet unwritten history of political factions at the court of the virgin queen with reference to the position taken up by the great families of the Midlands. The Earl of Rutland also held a responsible command on the Northern Borders, and many of his despatches supplement the official series of State Papers connected with this subject. It is no longer necessary to maintain the existence of the Crown's prerogative for commission of array, otherwise many good instances in point might be furnished by the earl's Northern correspondence. It is beyond dispute that able-bodied men were pressed for the wars, whether in Ireland, Scotland, France, or the Low Countries; but it is interesting to ascertain that the obligation did not (doubtless in the face of the Act of Edward III.) press very heavily upon the community. Not only was the assessment very low in point of numbers - Nottinghamshire "always before this time" contributing three hundred men, and such a town as Newark in turn only eight of these; but we hear of cases in which the arms of the recruits were condemned as antiquated, while desertions were apparently as common as Falstaff himself could have desired. Indeed, the chief aim of the new school of commanders, such as Dudley or Ratcliffe, was to increase the efficiency of the artillery" as the backbone of a modern army. These "shott" were still frequently Almains or Italians, and if we may judge of their general character from the reports current respecting a certain Captain Tiberio, they can

scarcely have been desirable auxiliaries to the native levies.

In addition to a good deal of information about affairs in Scotland there are some occasional notices of the religious wars in France and the Low Countries, including an interesting account of the memorable defence of Helvoetsluys. There, though all the lieutenants, ancients, corporals, and sergeants of the garrison were slain saving one, the walls battered down and no pioneers available, and 14,000 cannon shot fired on both sides, the intrepid defenders still fought and ate and slept for thirteen days upon the ramparts within half a pike's length of the besiegers. At last, although "the Prince [of Parma] eate breade and sweare there shold be no composition," and "Sir Roger Williams sweare againe to dye and fight to the last man and fyre both toune and castle without honorable composition," the garrison was allowed to march out with the honours of war, having been further assured by the Prince that "since he was first a soldyer he never knewe or hearde of a towne so defended."

There are fewer papers dealing with "matters of religion" than might have been expected, but a curious description of the peculiar tenets of the so-called "Brownists" will be found at p. 235. This is evidently intended to reproduce some of their more extravagant expressions verbatim, and is valuable on that account as well as for the information that they resorted to the Fleet to be married. There are also two typical cases of persecution of Catholic recusants. One of these, that of Thomas Colwell at p. 307, contains an exceedingly curious narrative of Catholic society in England, and many glimpses of domestic life in the households of Henry VIII. and Mary. The second case is of a very different character, and shows us the stuff that the dupes of Parsons and Campion were made of. Here a lad named Dowling gives a narrative of his examination in 1595-6 before the High Commission Court, where "three or foure of them at once were very earnest at me why I would not goe to church; and I tould them I could not answere so many att once." His answer, which was prepared in writing, contains the following significant assertion: "I heare say that England hath bene a Catholicke Christian country a thousand yeares afore this Queen's raigne and her father's. If that were the old high-way to

The

heaven then why should I forsake itt?" Commissioners, however, had the good sense to commit this complacent egotist to Bridewell instead of to the Fleet. Among numberless other matters of interest the papers relating to the forced loans at the close of the reign should be noticed, and also the curious question raised respecting the acceptance of a foreign title by an English subject in Thomas Arundel's case, 1596.

By far the most important papers of the reigns of James I. and Charles I. are those containing "News from the Continent" during the French and German wars. Among these there is a remarkable description of the military revolution at Hoogstraten, where the "seditious and factious" formed themselves into a military force, observing the strictest discipline. It appears that the unfortunate Elector and his council were accustomed to confer with this body upon affairs of state from behind a wooden screen, because when anything distasteful to the rank and file was broached they forthwith "shot towards" the executive body. After each volley the magistrates cautiously showed themselves again and advanced some alternative proposition, "which course and order is kept divers tymes, until at last......when they like of it, they all cry 'Ye, ye.'"

The arrangement and style of this excellent Report leave little to be des desired, and it may be safely predicted that it will rank as one of the most valuable and interesting of the whole series.

Literary Gossip.

THE Hon. Mrs. Maxwell-Scott, of Abbotsford, is preparing for the press some hitherto unpublished journals of her great-grandfather, Sir Walter Scott.

To the sixth edition of 'At the Sign of the Lyre' (just ready), which has been revised and enlarged in order to make it the exact counterpart of Old-World Idylls, Mr. Austin Dobson has added supplementary eighteenth century title-pages, so that the volume and its predecessor can, if desired, be bound up as 'Poems on Several Occasions,' vols. i. and ii. Old-World Idylls, which reached its eighth edition in 1888, bids fair, we learn, to enter speedily upon

its ninth.

THE Rev. A. J. Church, it is said, has resigned the Chair of Latin in University College, Gower Street. Among the candidates for the Professorship of English, vacant by the retirement of Mr. Henry Morley, are Mr. A. H. Bullen, Mr. Churton Collins, Prof. Minto of Aberdeen, and Mr. W. Sharp.

THE books sold by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge last Friday and Saturday realized high prices, one small quarto volume of nine seventeenth century plays bound together selling for the astonishing sum of 5901. Five of these plays were by Shakespeare, but none of them first editions. Byble in Englyshe, 1540, brought 361. Froissart, Cronycles of Englande, 1525, 357. Shelley, Queen Mab, 1813, 171. 58. Prymer after the Use of Sarum in Englysshe, 1555, 321. 108. Burns, Poems, first edition, 1786 (worn copy), 60l. Burton's Arabian Nights, with the supplement, 211. 10s. Horæ B. Mariæ V., manuscript on vellum, illuminated, fifteenth century, 231. Milton, Poems, first edition, 1645, 191. 158. Laborde, Choix de Chansons, 4 vols., Paris, 1773, 601. La Fontaine, Contes et Nouvelles en Vers, 2 vols., Fermiers Généraux edition, Paris, 1762, 271. Audubon, Birds of America, 1827-38, 3151.

A CURIOUS experiment in literature will appear in a few days. This is a collection of letters purporting to be written in reply to Prosper Mérimée's well-known 'Lettres à une Inconnue.' Whether the "unpublished letters" will throw much light upon the identity of this mysterious correspondent, our readers must judge for themselves. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are the publishers, and the title of the book is 'An Author's

Love.'

THE first part of Dr. R. Sharpe's 'Calendar of Wills proved and enrolled in the Court of Husting, A.D. 1258-1358 (containing abstracts of 2,500 wills in round numbers), is now being bound. One thousand copies only have been printed.

THE annual general meeting of the Goethe Gesellschaft will be held at Weimar on June 13th. The well-known Goetheforscher, Prof. Michael Bernays, of Munich, has promised to deliver the Festvortrag.

THE publishing trade has been somewhat alarmed of late by the report that a syndicate is being formed to control the price of paper in the same way that the Salt Trust controls the price of salt. This, however, is scarcely correct. The syndicate has reference only to the cheapest kind of paper

used for newspapers. The proprietors of some dozen mills making this class of paper have already given in their adhesion, and have agreed that their mills shall be purchased for the syndicate. For some years past the competition is said to have been such that the price of this class of paper has been driven down to a figure that proves unremunerative. It is contended that, notwithstanding the competition which will still exist with continental mills, a sufficient advance may be obtained upon the prices now ruling to ensure a fair return upon the capital invested without the trade being lost by our home manufacturers. If prudent counsels prevail, the result may be satisfactory; but the fear always is that under the influence of a supposed monopoly the price may be unduly raised, in which case the syndicate will be defeated.

MR. JOHN BARTLETT, the author of 'Familiar Quotations,' has just retired from the firm of Little, Brown & Co., the well-known Boston publishers, which he entered nearly a quarter of a century ago. He has been in the trade for fully half a century, says the American Bookseller.

The annual meeting of the Manchester Literary Club was held last week, under the presidentship of Mr. George Milner. It was announced that Mr. W. E. A. Axon had resigned the editorship of the Manchester Quarterly, which would in future be edited by Mr. W. R. Credland, the secretary of the Club. There are now 231 members.

THERE is a good deal of controversy regarding the appointment of a successor to the late Dr. Porter as president of Queen's College, Belfast. The Presbyterian Church naturally desires to see one Presbyterian minister followed by another, but the professors would like to see a layman, and probably one of their own body, chosen. It is said that Sir M. Hicks-Beach, when appointing Dr. Porter, said that his selection would not be considered a precedent. A list of ministers whom it considers eligible for the post has been drawn up by a committee of the General Assembly. On the other hand, students of the college to the number of 301 have signed a memorial to the Lord Lieutenant, praying for the appointment of some one of the present professors. They say:

"Our college is non-sectarian, both by its constitution and by the purely secular education which it affords, of every creed have

freely availed themselves of its advantages. Therefore we hold that no religious body, as such, has any claim on any post of honour or emolument in our college, and that to admit such a claim would be injurious to its interests." THE following inscription has just been published in Berlin: "Dese Hludanse conductores piscatus mancipe Q. Valerio Secundo v. s. 1. m." It was found in Holland, and dates probably from between Vespasian and Trajan. The goddess Hludana is known from former North German discoveries. The mention of fish contractors in the Texel, where the inscription was found, suggests a state monopoly.

THE long-talked-of 'Geschichte der Stadt Athen,' by Ferdinand Gregorovius, will, it is expected, be issued in Germany during the spring publishing season.

THE deaths are announced of Mr. Tyerman, the biographer of Wesley and other

early Methodists; of the Rev. Dr. Schön, well known by his contributions to the study of African languages; and of Prof. L. Noiré, who died at Mayence on the 26th of March. Prof. Noiré's chief work was 'Der Ursprung der Sprache,' published in 1879.

THE chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Education Department, Code of Regulations (6d.); ditto Scotland (3d.); Lighthouse Illuminants, South Foreland, Experiments, Correspondence (5d.); Civil Services, Estimates for 1889-90 (58. 9d.); Educational Endowments, Scotland, Commission, Sixth Annual Report (7d.); and Consular Reports-Austria-Hungary, Agriculture (1d.); Belgium, Estimates for 1889 (2d.); Russia, Agriculture (ld.).

SCIENCE

RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

UNDER the title of Greek Geometry from Thales to Euclid (Dublin, University Press) Dr. G. J. Allman has at last collected into a volume the remarkable series of papers which he has published, at long intervals, during the last eleven years in Hermathena. With the exception of an index, a few notes of little importance, and a still less momentous portrait of Archytas, there is nothing in the book which there was not in the periodical. The limited public which can read with pleasure both hard Greek and high mathematics is probably long since familiar with

Dr. Allman's work, and is aware that it has deservedly achieved a European reputation. The appearance of this volume, however, will perhaps call the attention of influential persons to Dr. Allman's distinguished talents, and may induce them to invite him within the pale. There are plenty of English and Welsh professors who would probably attract as large an audience in Galway as anywhere else, and who would be glad of the salmon-fishing besides.

A Text-Book of General Astronomy for Colleges

and Scientific Schools. By Charles A. Young, Ph.D., LL.D. (Ginn & Co.)-Prof. Young's admirable work on the sun had prepared astronomers to welcome one from him on the science generally, and their expectations will assuredly not be disappointed. The aim aim of the volume is, in its author's words, " to give a clear, accurate, and justly proportioned presentation of astronomical facts, principles, and methods in such a form

that they can be easily apprehended by the average college student with a reasonable amount of effort." It is not, therefore, an exclusively popular book, containing only the results of astronomical investigations (though it is full and well up to date in this branch of the subject); but the careful student who masters it tho

roughly will be enabled to comprehend the

principles on which those investigations are conducted, and to take an intelligent interest in all modern astronomical processes. Some previous training is of course necessary; some knowledge is requisite (but only of a very elementary kind) of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, and a similar acquaintance with mechanics and physics, especially optics. In every point of view, great is the advantage gained by surveying any branch

of scientific domain (but in a very eminent degree that of astronomy, which opens out time and space more than any other) in this way over that acquired by merely reading books of results, and accepting those results in faith. Particularly is this the case when we tread (as all now wish to do, though all do not take the trouble or undergo the previous study neces

sary to do of scientific progress, and desire to know the amount of probability which may fairly be claimed for new scientific acquisitions or suggestions. Astronomy now trenches on the districts of

SO intelligently) upon the border-line other sciences, especially of chemistry and general physics. A safer guide in obtaining a general insight into its present position than Prof. Young has afforded in the interesting volume now before us does not exist, and he has evidently revised it with all the care which so important a work demands. We can hardly close our brief notice of it better than by quoting his concluding paragraph :

"One lesson seems to stand out clearly-that the

present system of stars and worlds is not an eternal

one. We have before us irrefragable evidence of continuous, uncompensated progress, inexorable in one direction. The hot bodies are losing their heat and distributing it to the cold ones, so that there is a steady unremitting tendency towards a uniform (and therefore useless) temperature throughout the universe; for heat does work and is available as energy only when it can pass from hotter to cooler bodies, so that this warming up of cooler bodies at the expense of hotter ones always involves a loss, not of energy (for that is indestructible), but of available energy. To use the technical language now usually employed, energy is unceasingly 'dissipated' by the processes which maintain the present life of the universe; and this dissipation of energy can have but one ultimate result that of absolute

stagnation when a uniform temperature has been everywhere attained. If we carry our imagination backwards we reach at last a beginning of things,' which has no intelligible antecedent; if forwards, an end of things in stagnation. That by some process or other this end of things will result in 'new heavens and a new earth' we can hardly doubt, but science has as yet no word of explanation."

of a thorough nature, estimates the population of "old" Servia and Macedonia at 2,849,050 souls, of whom 1,830,100, or 64 per cent., speak Servian. Of Greeks there are only 171.200. Even in Salonica, among a population of 186,000, there are only 20,000 Greeks, whilst the Jews number 60,000, the Serbs the same, and the Turks 40,000. Politically there are three parties in the country, each counting members of various nationalities. The Turkish party is supposed to have 940,750 adherents, the Greek party 327,200, and the Bulgarian party 82,200. A Servian party does not appear to exist. It is perfectly clear from the author's statistics that if "language were to determine the final partition of the Balkan Peninsula, the kingdom of Servia might with propriety be extended southward to the Ægean. An excellent map accompanies Dr. Gopcevic's paper.

"

The 'Carta Altimetrica e Batometrica dell' Italia, costrutta e disegnata da Guido Cora' (scale 1: 2,000,000), which is published as a supplement to the Cosmos, is an admirable production, presenting us for the first time with a trustworthy delineation of the orographical features of the whole of the peninsula of the Apennines. The heights above the sea level are indicated by eleven, and the depths of the sea by ten graduated tints.

Herr Paul Langhans, in a paper contributed to the Mittheilungen of the Vienna Geographical

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witness to his character as a man. An obituary article in the Nieuwe Amsterdamsche Courant sums up his character in the following words: "Donders was onze eerste geleerde, een vaandeldrager der wetenschap, een weldoener der menschheid; hij was 'groot en goed.'"

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES.

We regret to announce the death of M. Tempel, well known for his planetary and cometary discoveries, who, soon after the death of Donati in September, 1873, was appointed to succeed him as director of the new observatory on the Arcetri Hill (near the old dwelling-place of Galileo) at Florence. Born in Lusatia on the 4th of December, 1821, Wilhelm Ernst Tempel, after spending three years in Denmark, commenced his astronomical labours at Venice in 1859, when he discovered the only comet of that year on the 2nd of April. In 1860 he removed to Marseilles, where he discovered five small planets and several comets, one of which (found on the 19th of December, 1865) proved of great interest on account of its identity of orbit with that of the Leonid meteors, which made such a brilliant appearance in November, 1866. Two of the comets discovered by M. Tempel at Marseilles (on the 3rd of April, 1867, and the 27th of November, 1869) were found to be of short period, although the last was not recognized as such until a later appearance (after an un

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GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

THE letters from Mr. H. M. Stanley so anxiously looked for have at length reached this country, together with a rough sketch-map showing the route followed from Yambuya to the Albert Nyanza. This map we have combined with our existing information, and if our combination is a fair approximation to the truth, Stanley must have got to within sixty geographical miles of the furthest point reached by Dr. Junker in 1882. We cannot help thinking that the appalling loss of life which attended the march through the dense forests of the Baregga might have been avoided had Mr. Stanley found it practicable to follow the Nepoko instead of the Upper Aruwimi.

A paper on the nationalities in Macedonia, by Dr. Spiridion Gopcevic, in Petermann's Mitteilungen, is deserving the attention of political students. The author, a Serb, who formerly reproved his countrymen for casting longing eyes upon a province which he supposed to be mainly in habited by Bulgars, has recently examined in to this question on the spot, and found, to his surprise, and we suppose delight, that the supposed Bulgars are in reality Serbs. They are Serbs by language and traditions, and the festival of the patron saint of the family, called "Slava" or "Krsno ime," which is peculiar to the Serbs, is still observed amongst them. The author, whose researches on the spot appear to have been

Society, deals with the Italian colonies in the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul. The first of these colonies, Caxias, was founded in 1875, and in 1885 the five colonies then existent already numbered 38,605 inhabitants, of whom 29,506 were natives of Italy. As the immigration of Italians proceeds at a more rapid rate, the German element in this Brazilian province must in course of time lose in importance.

PROF. DONDERS.

By the death of Franciscus Cornelis Donders on March 27th, after a long illness, not only does Holland mourn her most distinguished in vestigator, but men of science in all countries feel that they have lost one of the leaders of physiology and the first ophthalmologist of his time. It is now scarcely ten months since the celebration of his seventieth birthday was marked by the congratulations of his admirers and pupils in all parts of the world, and his appointment to the emeritus professorship which he had earned by forty years of hard work. His activity as an investigator may be gauged by the fact that in the Royal Society's Catalogue he is credited with upwards of 115 papers, having begun to publish in 1842. As a teacher he was marked by that power of exciting enthusiasm which called into existence the physiological school for which Utrecht is famous; while the reverence with which he was regarded by all classes in Utrecht bears

G. Philip & Son, London.

observed return in 1875) in 1880. In 1870 M. Tempel (being expelled as a German from France) removed to Milan, and was for some time assistant to Prof. Schiaparelli at the Brera Observatory, where he discovered several other comets, one of which (found on July 3rd, 1873) was also of short period, revolving round the sun in little more than five years. His last cometary discovery, of comet V., 1877, was made on the 3rd of October in that year, at Arcetri, where, until his health began to fail, he diligently made the best use of the instrumental means at his disposal. M. Tempel had for many years followed lithography as a profession, and his skill as a draughtsman was often of great advantage to him as an astronomer in making drawings of comets and nebulæ.

Circular No. 23 of the Wolsingham Observatory (Rev. T. E. Espin) announces that the spectra of R Leonis and R Hydre were noticed on the 25th of February to contain bright (hydrogen?) lines, and that this was afterwards confirmed, through the kindness of Mr. Common, by Mr. Taylor at Ealing, who saw two bright lines in the spectrum of R Leonis and one bright line in that of R Hydræ.

SOCIETIES.

ROYAL.-March 28.-The President in the chair.

-The following papers were read: The Structural Arrangement of the Mineral Matters in Sedimentary

and Crystalline Pearls,' by Dr. G. Harley, -'On the Descending Degenerations which follow Lesions of the Gyrus Marginalis and Gyrus Fornicatus in Monkeys, by Mr. E. P. France, with an introduction by Prof. Schäfer, Report on certain Ternary Alloys: I. Alloys of Lead, Tin, and Zine.' by Dr. C. R. A. Wright and Mr. C. Thompson, The Diurnal Variation of Terrestrial Magnetism,' by Prof. Schuster, and 'On the Conditions for Effective Scour in Drainpipes of Circular Section,' by Prof. Hennessy.

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES- March 28.-Dr. J. Evans, President, and afterwards Mr. C. D. E. Fortnum, V.P., in the chair.-Mr. E. S. Clark exhibited two wooden standing cups with heraldic devices, dated 1617 and 1648 respectively. -Mr. T. Turner exhibited a fine example of an Elizabethan or Jacobean quilted counterpane of white linen with fioral devices. - Dr. A. S. Murray exhibited and read some notes on an inscribed bronze tablet.-Dr. Freshfield read some notes on the services of the Church of England as described in a recently published Spanish chronicle of the reign of Henry VIII. -Rev. J. T. Fowler exhibited part of a monumental brass that had been laid down with rosin instead of pitch as was more usually the case.

ROYAL INSTITUTION.-April 1.-Sir J. C. Browne, V.P., in the chair.-Major S. F. Page, Prof. J. A. Fleming, Mr. S. F. Beevor, and Mr. J. Langston were elected Members.

SOCIETY OF ARTS. March 29.-Sir G. B. Bruce in the chair.-A paper On the Progress of the Railways and Trade of India' was read by Sir J. Danvers before the Indian Section, and was followed by a discussion.

April 1.-Mr. C. V. Boys delivered the second of his course of Cantor Lectures On the Measurement of Radiant Heat.'

April 2.-Mr. Hyde Clarke in the chair. A paper On the Argentine Republic' was read before the Foreign and Colonial Section by Mr. F. K. Smythies. April 3.-Col. Hamilton in the chair. A paper On Fruit Growing for Profit in the Open Air in England' was read by Mr. W. Paul.

SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS.-April 1. - Mr. J. R. Baillie, President, in the chair. A paper was read * On Fireproof Floors,' by Mr. G. M. Lawford.

SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.-April 2. -Mr. P. Le Page Renouf, President, in the chair.The following papers were read: 'Parallels in Folklore,' by Mr. P. Le Page Renouf, and 'Jehovistic and Elohistic Proper Names,' by the Rev. A. Löwy.

MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.

MON. Aristotelian, 8.- Proclus and the Close of Greek Philosophy,'
Mr. F. C. Conybeare.

Society of Arts, 8-Instruments for the Measurement of
Radiant Heat,' Lecture III., Mr. C. V. Boys (Cantor Lecture).
Geographical, 8- A Journey to the Glacier Regions of A'aska,'
Mr. H. W. Topham.

TUES. Horticultural. Fruit and Floral Committee, 11; Scientific Committee, 1; Lecture, 3.

Royal Institution, 3.-'Before and After Darwin, Prof. G. J.
Romanes.

Civil Engineers, 8.

Society of Arts. 8.-' Architecture in relation to Landscape,' Mr.
H. H. Statham.

Anthropological Institute, 84.-Exhibition of the Skull of Po
Tok, a celebrated Burmese Dacoit Leader, and of the Skull of
Sze Chuen, a Rebel Chinese Mandarin, Capt. E. S. Hastings;
The Maorts of New Zealand, Mr. E. Tregear.

WED. Society of Arts. 8- The Sanitary Functions of the County
Councils, Sir D. Galton.

Microscopical, 8.-'Revision of the Trichiacere, Mr. G. Massee. THURS. Royal Institution, 3.-'Ancient Houses and their Decoration,'

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Prof. J. H. Middleton. Royal, 44.

Electrical Engineers, 8.-'On Underground Conduits and Electrical Conductors, Mr. J. B. Verity.

Mathematical, 8.- On the Free Vibrations of an Infinite Plate of Homogeneous Isotropic Elastic Matter, Lord Rayleigh; 'On the Constant Factors of the Theta Series in the General Case p=3. Prof. F. Klein; 'On the Generalized Equations of Elasticity and their Application to the Theory of Light,' Prof. K. Pearson.

Antiquaries, 8-Notes on an Old House at Binnal, Salop,' Rev. FT Havergal; 'Note on a Recent Discovery of Part of the Roman Wall of London. Mr. G. E. Fox; 'An Inventory of Household Goods temp. Elizabeth, Dr. E. Freshfield.

Historicat, 8.-'The Scandinavian Race in Britain, Mr. J. F.

Palmer.

United Service Institution, 3-Unprotected State of British Commerce at Sea, Lieut W. C. Crutchley.

Civil Engineers, 7.

New Shakspere, 8. 'Note on Ophelia's Virgin Crants, Dr. Furnivall; Logical View of the Shakspere-Bacon Controversy,' Mr. MHDziewicki.

Royal Institution, 9.- Iridescent Crystals, Lord Rayleigh. Royal Institution, 3.- Experimental Optics, Lord Rayleigh. Physical, 3-Lecture Experiment iliustrating the Effect of Heat on the Magnetic Susceptibility of Nickel, and an Experiment showing an Effect of Light on Magnetism, Mr. 8. Bidwell; The Dark Flash seen in some Lightning Photographs.' Mr. G. M. Whipple; Quartz as an Insulator, Mr. C. V. Boys; 'A Refraction Goniometer, Mr. A. P. Trotter; Apparatus to filustrate Crystal Forms, Prof. R. J. Anderson.

Botanic, 31.-Election of Fellows.

Science Gossip.

Ar the next meeting of the Folk-lore Society Mr. Gomme will read a paper On the Survivals of Totemism in Britain.' He first constructs a formula from savage totemism as described in Mr. Frazer's book, and then groups some of the

customs and superstitions of the country under the heads of this formula. The results show that a large group of superstitions is explained adequately, and only thus explained, by referring it to a totemistic origin. The paper will be published afterwards in the Archeological Review.

We have received the Conference number of the Journal of the Camera Club, containing a report of the conference of last week.

FINE ARTS

The STUART EXHIBITION of PORTRAITS, MINIATURES, and PERSONAL RELICS connected with the ROYAL HOUSE of STUART. Under the Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen. OPEN DAILY from 10 A.M. to 7 FM-Admission, Is Season Tickets, 5s. Will CLOSE April 13th. New Gallery, Regent Street.

ONE HUNDRED and NINETY-FIVE MASTERPIECES of the GREAT ROMANTICISTS NOW ON VIEW. - An important Loan Collection of Works by the most eminent French and Dutch Painters, comprising Examples by Millet, Corot, Diaz, Rousseau, Meissonier, Israëls, the three Marises. Mauve, &c.- Messrs. Dowdeswell's Galleries, 160, New Bond Street.-Admission, 18.

ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTER-ETCHERS' EXHIBITION, including a special Collection of Works by the President, Mr. Seymour Haden, NOW OPEN at the Gallery, 51, Pall Mall East. Will Close Thursday, 11th.

THE VALE OF TEARS.'-DORE'S LAST GREAT PICTURE, completed a few days before he died, NOW ON VIEW at the Doré Gallery, 35, New Bond Street, with 'Christ leaving the Prætorium,' 'Christ's Entry into Jerusalem,' 'The Dream of Pilate's Wife,' and his other great Pictures. From 10 to 6 Daily. Admission, ls.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

WHATEVER was the value, at the time of its publication some years ago, of Herr H. Grimm's work which is oddly misnamed a Life of Raphael, its reappearance in an English translation by Miss S. H. Adams, a young lady of New York, and publication by Mr. A Gardner, will be a surprise to all who have at hand the searching and studious work of Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle, and the clear, tasteful, and comprehensive biography by M. E. Müntz called 'Raphaël, sa Vie,' &c., which, by the way, has been extremely well translated by Mr. W. Armstrong and another. The book before us is not a life of Raphael at all, but it comprises translations of sufficient merit from Herr H. Grimm's six essays, selected from similar publications on the chief works of Raphael, the 'Sposalizio,' 'Entombment,' 'Camera della Segnatura,' 'Sistine Madonna,' and 'Transfiguration,' and on 'Four Centuries of Raphael's Fame.' The value, such as it is, of Miss Adams's original is still further reduced in her translation by the omission of what she is pleased to call "a few passages of historical research and sometimes of subtle analysis." On second thoughts we are not sure that the omission of the former is not beneficial to the general reader, who is the only person interested. But, apart from this, surely the funniest plea in behalf of omissions of this nature from a translation is that which follows the note we have just quoted, that it was needless to translate the entire work "because the German edition is now accessible to any reader who may wish to consult the original work"! Apart from its insufficiency as a 'Life of Raphael,' Herr Grimm's work consists of self-complacent and rather prosy outpourings of remarks evincing little insight, little critical or historical research, and much evidence that the author's sympathy with himself and Goethe is deeper than with Raphael

and art.

Histoire de l'Art pendant la Renaissance. Italie: Les Primitifs. Par Eugène Müntz. (Hachette & Co.) - The present volume by M. Eugène Müntz on the history of art during the Renaissance deals with

Italy only. It is an ex

cellent specimen of a class of work which has now become wonderfully popular in France. The text embodies the latest results arrived at by the hosts of archæologists who have made the early history of Italian art a subject of special study; illustrations abound on every page, and even maps are not forgotten. A vast work such as this, compiled from innumerable sources, the page incessantly broken by cuts which are necessary to the understanding of the

letterpress, cannot pretend to any effect of literary style except at the price of labour which a writer may very properly refuse to put into a book destined by its nature to have but a brief span of existence. To give anything like colour and character to so enormous and so varied a mass of matter would demand years of self-renunciation and brooding study. To what end? Such works as these are in truth mere text-books, of an opulent and glorified sort, but text-books nevertheless, destined to be superseded by others whose superior merit will not improbably consist solely in the fact that they are of more recent date. The writer of a great text-book which purports to contain a complete history of the period of which it treats can leave out nothing, and suffers from the outset from that difficulty which makes itself now so painfully felt by every author, the difficulty of having too much to say. Dates, minute facts, obscure names, and arguments even more obscure must all be brought in; method and industry will, however, furnish all we have a right to exact, and we may be satisfied if only the statements of the text are clear, and the verification of the facts given is complete. These conditions are, on the whole, fulfilled by M. Müntz, though we note in passing that on p. 16, by some strange oversight, caused possibly through haste, he has attributed to Piero della Francesca that lovely portrait by Paolo Uccelli which is one of the chief glories of the Poldi Pezzoli collection at Milan. We have, however, nothing but praise to give to the system on which he has grouped the several divisions of his subject. After a slight introduction, he treats of the various patrons whose names, like those of the Medicis, are for ever associated with early Italian art, and of the different centres which gave birth to schools as varying in character as those of Rome and Venice, of Florence and Milan. In his second division M. Müntz describes the gradual breaking up of tradition by the advent of that realism which first showed itself in the sculpture of the school of Pisa. The passages in which M. Müntz here traces the effect which this realism had on art education in the fifteenth century are, perhaps, those which will appear the freshest to the reader who shall attempt to do more than dip into the mass of information which he has collected. In the later sections of his work M. Müntz treats of architectureBrunellesco to Bramante; sculpture-Donatello to Verrocchio; painting-Masaccio to Mantegna; and concludes with a chapter on engraving and the decorative arts. If it must be confessed that the present volume does not show that originality of view and treatment which we should naturally have expected from the author of the life of Raphael, it must, on the other hand, be admitted that every page gives evidence of the competency of the writer's knowledge, and of the unflinching industry with which he has set himself to the task of compilation.

MINOR EXHIBITIONS.

THE thirty-fifth exhibition at the French Gallery contains a certain number of noteworthy pictures. There is, to be sure, a buge 'Descent from the Cross, No. 105, by Herr J. V. Krämer, in which there is a vast parade of academic skill, all the learned vices of art, and a number of conventions. Close to it is Mrs. J. E. Benham Hay's imitation of Sir F. Leighton's famous version of early Florentine art. Mrs. Hay's large and pretentious picture is called A Florentine Procession' (93), and represents, without a tittle of passion, the march of a train of boys, woman-like men, and sentimental women carrying works of art and relics to be burnt under the auspices of Savonarola. The subject is as good as the President's 'Procession of Cimabue, or indeed much better, but the design is incompetent, and no more like a master's work than a mild version of a "set piece" at a theatre can be. Technically the drawing of the figures is imperfect. Such an

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ambitious theme demanded noble draughtsmanship which Mrs. Hay had not prepared herself to furnish, and finish she flinched from. We remember seeing this picture in this room about a quarter of a century since, when Mr. Gambart exhibited it, and our first impression of it is confirmed; indeed, judging it by its own pretensions, we can discover no merits in it except brightness and a taste for elegant colour. M. Duverger's pretty piece of genre of boys 'Kept in' (5) at school is almost equal to a first-class E. Frère. The active rebel's face and action are first rate, and the picture is warmer and firmer than a Frère. We like M. Wahlberg's sound 'Off the Swedish Coast' (9), as, indeed, we do his seascapes, which are often seen in Paris. 'The Port of Waxholme' (60) is a most effective study of the contrast be tween twilight gloom and shadows and the nacreous splendour of the moon, painted in a dashing and somewhat coarse way and redolent of the lamp. Nos. 12 to 45 inclusive are pretty but mannered sketches by Prof. K. Heffner, of which 'View near Norwich' (21) is almost important enough to be called a picture. Here we have sympathetically painted, in a style everybody recognizes as that of the artist, a calm and shining river between low banks of osiers and russet reeds, broad-leaved docks, and "rushes grey." The painting of the trees behind is very clever-too clever, perhaps, for truth. A contrast to these somewhat hard and metallic examples is offered by the richness, depth of tone and colour, and full rusticity of Jules Dupré's 'Near Ville d'Avray' (49), a massive picture of a river in calm grey weather when rain is impending and gusts of wind are sobbing between the buge oak-boughs. It is a serious and sober study, instinct with pathos and natural truth. In the Pyrenees, returning to the Fold' (66), is M. Auguste Bonheur's impressive picture of a noble view after sundown, while the last flush remains in the sky and warm grey light pervades the scene. The touch is a little heavier than common with the artist. 'The Harvest Moon' (110), by C. F. Daubigny, is comparatively an unimportant example. It is, nevertheless, a fine one. Of the figure pictures we may mention Heer J. Israëls's 'Grandfather's Consolation' (53), a good representation of an incident the motive of which no one has done so much to make hackneyed as this able and effective painter. Yet his sincerity and spontaneity redeem the dash of sentimentality inherent in the subject, and in its mannered way the picture is impressive and pathetic, for it is broad in effect, rich in tone, and homogeneous in colour. The same artist's 'Seamstress' (111) is less hackneyed, and technically almost as good. There is much sincere and firm painting, excellent finish, and good taste in the group of lovers at a harpsichord called 'Love and Music' (78), by M. Poetzelberger, of which the best part is the finely touched head and neck of the damsel seated with her back towards us. Her earnest attitude and air are very good indeed. The picture is more like a Chavet than a Meissonier, and happily combines, at a distance, some of the best qualities of both those artists. A real Meissonier is always welcome, therefore we are glad to see 'Le Rieur' (64), a man in a grey dress and green sash, standing in a courtyard and laughing aloud; it is marked by energy and a most suitable expression and character. The whole is somewhat less firm and stringently searching than usual, yet it is almost Metsu-like in its touch and relief; its colouring resembles that of Teniers. M. J. Weiser's 'The Pen is mightier than the Sword' (83) reminds us of Herr Holmberg's highly finished and luminous pictures. It is energetic and telling throughout. Close to it hangs a much more important picture by Herr Holmberg himself, called 'Musicians at Fault, the Lost Chord' (67), a group of three aged and refined ecclesiastics of high degree in a sumptuous room in Roman palac such as

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the artist has more than once painted with delightful breadth, veracity of colour, and illumination of the first order. All the faces are spontaneously conceived and spiritedly executed. The expression of the seated figure holding the violin is a masterpiece of a fine and rare kind. Nor is the finish of the draperies less excellent, thorough, and searching than it is brilliant, rich in tone and colour, and vigorous in its pure lights and clear and strong shadows. The white robe of the standing figure in front is one of the best examples that we know. The textures of the fabrics are all felicitous, brilliant, and solid. The 'Needlework' (74) of M. W. Firle is quite different in its subject, scene, figures, and technique. The humble faces and costumes are excellent; the former are true and pathetic without the least sentimentality. The linen the women sew and their own dresses are capital; the interior light is first rate. Still the effect lacks force, and the colours might be stronger with advantage. The 'Lesbia' (81) of the late James Bertrand is a smaller version of one of his best pictures which has been engraved. The face of the lady in the 'Study' (113), by M. Krämer, is full of character, energetically depicted, but a little painty.

NEW PRINTS.

We have received from Messrs. Obach & Co. an artist's proof on vellum, with the remarque (a head of Sir T. Lawrence), from a plate etched by M. C. Waltner after the President's portrait of Master Lambton, which is one of the chief ornaments of Lambton Castle. As impressions from the plate mezzotinted by S. Cousins are extremely scarce, the Earl of Durham generously lent it to be re-engraved. The boy is seated in a throne-like rocky nook; he leans his head sideways on his left hand, and his left elbow rests on the rock at his side. He is musing in the cloudy moonlight, which reveals the landscape and a lake. The boy was Charles John, eldest son of Mr. John George Lambton, of Durham, afterwards first Earl of Durham, and his second wife Louise Elizabeth, daughter of Charles, second Earl Grey. He was born in January, 1818; he sat to Lawrence in 1825; his portrait was No. 399 at the Academy in 1825, when the painter's reputation was at its height. It was accompanied by 'Mrs. [Lady] Peel,' the 'Princess Sophia,' the 'Duke of Wellington,' 'George Canning, and three other portraits. The dress of the child was originally yellow, but as this did not suit the hues of the rocks and foliage, and, above all, the moonlight of the landscape, it was changed to a deep crimson red. When exhibited the picture made an immensely strongimpression; its originality, spirit, and grace, and even its sentimentality and its technical defects united in securing popularity for a work which has never ceased to be admired. The boy, surviving his painter but one year, died in 1831. The portrait, as that of the 'Hon. Charles William Lambton,' was at the British Institution in 1830 with the collected works of Lawrence. The price paid for the picture was six hundred guineas. The etching before us proves that M. Waltner, whose work had lately shown less of his high accomplishments and research than was desirable, has returned to his old methods. The fine and, though rather sentimental, touching and elevated expression of the boy's face, his naturally graceful attitude, the keeping of the whole, and the rich textures of the dress and land landscape are thoroughly well translated into black and white.

P

Messrs. Millard & Co. (Charing Cross) have sent us an artist's proof of an original etching by Mr. A. D. McCormick, entitled 'Waiting, because it represents two women on the bank of a river in twilight, expecting the approach from the opposite bank of a ferry boat, which is seen crossing the shining portion of the water; beyond are buildings, the low shore, and overhead twilight ht settling into gloom, while a few belated birds hurry on their homeward flight.

Although it deals with motives, technical and pathetic, which are not very fresh or recondite, there can be no doubt that it is expressive and ably studied, well balanced and strong in the harmonious proportions and proper qualities of light and dark, and thoroughly in keeping throughout. The "qualities" have been duly observed and carefully delineated, from the distance, where the buildings are half hidden in a veil of brightness, to the immediate foreground, where the seated woman's white apron has been very cleverly treated indeed.

AN EARLY SCRAP-BOOK OF W. M. THACKERAY.

I THINK an account of a scrap-book containing early drawings by Thackeray, which has lately come into my possession, may interest some readers of the Atheneum.

The pedigree of the volume is wanting, as the booksellers from whom I had it are not at liberty to disclose the name of the former owner, but I am told that the drawings were made by Thackeray for the mother of the gentleman in question, who was an intimate friend of his in early days.

At the time the drawings were made Thackeray was evidently under the influence of Tom Hood, which is shown by the subjects, the punning titles, and even the style. The period of the more interesting sketches is apparently about 1841. Some of them I have succeeded in identifying as first ideas for the artist's published work. For instance, there is a sketch of the interview of Napoleon with Major Gahagan, which in some respects better illustrates the scene than does the etching issued in the 'Comic Tales and Sketches.' In the drawing the great Major stands in front of the Emperor hat in hand, and seems to be embarrassed, an infinitesimally small army appearing in the far distance. He has no beard, while in the published picture his great beard is the principal feature. The passage in question is this: "The Emperor looked me at once in the face, took his hands out of his pockets, put them behind his back, and, coming up to me smiling, pronounced the following words: 'Assye, Delhi, Deeg, Futtyghur.' I blushed, and taking off my hat with a bow, said, 'Sire, c'est moi.'"

Another scene from the same tale is illustrated by a drawing of a ferocious - looking individual in nightcap and dressing-gown, with a candle in one hand and a drawn sword in the other. The passage illustrated occurs at the end of the first chapter, where Julia's deception is discovered by the Major. The published illu tration in the book shows the Major bursting in upon the astonished Julia and "Mrs. Jow," but this drawing shows how "old Jowler at this entered with a candle and a drawn sword."

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Perhaps the most interesting sketch is one of a very prim and somewhat thin damsel with a fan, under which Thackeray has written "Mad'lle. Melanie v. Spiegel, dame d'honneur to the Princess William of Prussia," one of his early loves, and drawn, we may assume, after his passion had fled. It is interesting to speculate as to whether this young lady was immortalized under the name of Dorothea or of Ottilia. The latter, I think, as the description which best suits the drawing is this: "Ottilia was pale and delicate. She wore her glistening black hair in bands, and dressed in vapoury white muslin." Ottilia's surname was, it will be remembered, Schlippenschlopp, and the engagement was broken off because she ate seventeen bad oysters! There are other drawings, apparently of an earlier period, of Frederick the Great and "Mr. Braham as Robert the Devil," the latter appearing in the National Standard, it will be remembered, above some verses by Thackeray.

There are several drawings which I cannot identify, among which is one of a Jew kneeling before a lady of colour with earrings and a veil, the subject of which I feel sure should be familiar, and an excellent caricature of the artist threatening a Jew "old clo' man" with

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