Miscellaneous. NOTES ON BOOKS, &o. Select Plays of Calderon. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Norman Maccoll, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.) WHEN the full value of Spanish as an indispensable part of literary training is recognized, this scholarly edition of four representative plays of Calderon will take its part as an educational text-book. Even now it is not easy to imagine a work better calculated to assist the student who seeks, while augmenting his knowledge of the Spanish language, to acquire familiarity with the drama which, alike by parallel and contrast, is most illustrative of our own. Blank ignorance concerning the Spanish drama has prevailed among most English critics of the stage. Such will be no longer pardonable. In addition to the biography of Calderon included in his preface, Mr. Maccoll supplies a full account of the condition of the Spanish stage during the first half of the seventeenth century and a view of the condition of life and the aspects of thought with which Calderon dealt. So precise, luminous, and valuable are these that it is difficult to conceive of more practical information being conveyed within a similar space. The estimate of Calderon is just. Thanks, Mr. Maccoll holds, to "the Oriental element in his nature," he succeeds in informing with poetry works constructed with a regularity so scientific as to convey an idea of excess of ingenuity. "One of the most elaborate and artful of dramaturges," he is, at the same time, "a lyrical writer possessing an inexhaustible fund of metaphor, and an almost infantine love of ornament." The high place occupied by Calderon in literature Mr. Maccoll attributes to his being "the last heir in the direct line of the inheritance of the Middle Ages." No strong trace of Renaissance influence is apparent in him, and the fountain of his inspiration is the same that animates the ballads, chronicles, and romances of medieval Spain. Disputing Calderon's right to be regarded as a profound philosophical poet, Mr. Maccoll regards him as an eminently healthy writer, accepting the creed and ethics of his time, and forced by the problems of his time into a "gentle pessimism" which is content to leave to God the solution of whatever in life is hard of explanation. Calderon, Mr. Maccoll holds, compensates by animal spirits for lack of humour. The plays taken are El Principe Constante,'' La Vida es Sueño, El Alcalde de Zalamea,' and 'El Escondido y la Tapada.' Of these the first is taken as illustrative at once of the religious drama and the historical, the second is the poet's masterpiece in the class of philosophical drama, the third is Calderon's finest tragedy, and the fourth is a thoroughly representative specimen of the comedias de capa y espada. With each work is given, at the foot of the page, a series of notes explanatory and illustrative, exhibiting a curious amount of erudition. Further notes, bibliographical and other, are supplied in an appendix. To the student, the most useful portion will probably be the analysis of the metres, the explanation concerning the system of assonant verses, and the full information afforded as to such specially Spanish figures as the gracioso. In a form of composition in which the characters, according to Lope de Vega, wail in décimas, stay the action in sonnets, tell a less important action in romances or octaves, employ for more heroic recitations terzas, and make love in redondillas, information of this kind is indispensable. With all these obstacles, Mr. Maccoll holds the plays of Calderon to offer fewer difficulties than those of Shakspeare. Historical and literary introductions are prefixed to each separate play. Mr. Maccoll is to be thanked for a serviceable and an eminently scholarly work, which, without providing a royal road to learning, will directly facilitate the study of Spanish drama. Euterpe; being the Second Book of the Famous History of Herodotus. Englished by B. R., 1584. Edited by Andrew Lang. (Nutt.) In the revival of interest in the classics witnessed in England in the later years of the sixteenth century and the earlier years of the seventeenth, Herodotus was comparatively neglected. Two books only, Clio' and Euterpe,' were translated by B. R., who has been assumed to have been Barnaby Rich. A century and more had to elapse before a translation of the entire work appeared. Being so fortunate as to possess one of the few existing copies of the translation by B. R. of the opening books, Mr. Lang has elected to reprint one. This has been done in a very handsome and attractive form. As Mr. Lang's own prefatory observations upon the religion of Herodotus, his good faith, and so forth, will constitute to a large class of readers the principal attraction, the volume will receive the warm welcome it deserves. It will be left to a few book-lovers, such as ourselves, to regret that while he was "at it " Mr. Lang did not reprint the whole. We admit all that can be said as to the gossiping turn of B. R. and his inadequacy to deal satisfactorily with Herodotus. Still, a whole book-like a whole loaf-is better than the half, and to philologists, if to no others, the rendering by Barnaby Rich, or another, strongly appeals. It is, at least, not ungracious to say that with the duplication of the amount of text of B. R. we would gladly accept an equal enlargement of Mr. Lang's comments, which are a curious mixture of ingenuity, insight, and erudition. Great Writers.-Life of Sir Walter Scott. By Charles Duke Yonge. (Scott.) THIS book is quite up to the average of the series, and it can scarcely be considered a fault if it seems somewhat dry and bare when compared to Lockhart's great work, which is surely the best biography that ever was written in the English tongue, with the exception of the immortal Boswell's. Mr. Yonge is careful as a rule, and there are very few inaccuracies; but it is not correct to say that the first Napoleon invented the saint of that name. Was not that saint adopted as patron by one of the Orsini some time in the twelfth century, and did not the name spread from them over Italy and Corsica? It is pleasant to meet with any one in these days who admits Scott's claim to be considered a poet. Most thoughful people are willing to allow that he was very great as a novelist, perhaps the greatest of all, but there are not many who appreciate his verse at its true worth. Of course it would be mere nonsense to claim for him a place with Shelley, Keats, and men of that class, but surely he was a true poet of a certain kind. Excepting Burns, did Scotland ever produce a greater? It is a curious thing that, as a rule, Scotchmen seem to depreciate Scott. They appear to fancy that by so doing they are in some way paying a kind of tribute to their great "peasant poet." Then Scott's intense admiration for feudal splendour and high descent is out of harmony with the prevalent ideas now held by the mass of the people north of Berwick. Mr. Yonge's book is likely to do good if it can make people read Scott's verse as well as his novels. We wish, however, he had devoted rather more space to the man himself and less to his works. There is but the most bald outline of the life given, and full accounts of most of the poems and novels. Still we must be thankful that the poems are so appreciatively written about. The Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. III. Edited by Henry Irving and Frank A, Marshall. (Blackie & Sons.) GOOD progress has been made with this interesting edition of Shakspeare, the third volume of which has been edited under considerable difficulties, Mr. Irving being in America and Mr. Marshall in London. King Richard III.,'' King John,' The Merchant of Venice,' and the first and second parts of King Henry IV.' are the plays dealt with. In the case of the historical plays the suggested omissions of Mr. Irving are of special value. Mr. Marshall's prefaces, meanwhile, are full of observation and scholarship, and denote a wide range of reading. The general character of letterpress and illustrations is maintained. The Annual Register for the Year 1887. New Series. (Rivingtons.) ONCE more appears a new volume of the work of all others most indispensable to the historian, the statesman, the journalist, and all occupied with the recording of current events or needing facility of recourse to contemporary chronicles. In its present shape the Annual Register anticipates praise as it defies censure. What can be more useful than to have under the hand for recent years a minute and faithful account of all that has been done in connexion with government at home and abroad and in the colonies; with politics, with literature, science, art, and what not? In the six hundred pages of the Annual Register is given in a compendious form all that the average worker can seek to know of last year's proceedings. It is printed, moreover, in a bold and legible type, suitable to all sights. Constant use alone can convince the reader of the amount of information that is contained in the book, and of the trouble and research that are saved by a habit of reference to its pages. The Origin of Floral Structures through Insect and other Agencies. By the Rev. George Henslow, M.A. (Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.) THE" International Scientific Series " has been enriched by many works of high importance. Among the most important will count Mr. Henslow's' Origin of Floral Structures,' in which he supports the views first put forward by Geoffrey Saint Hilaire as to the primal cause of floral change. The work, which is amply illustrated, is likely to awaken some controversy, but is sure to command respect. The chapters on "Sexuality" and the "Environment and Progressive Metamorphoses" are of singular interest. Some very striking experiments are also described. The Eton Latin Grammar, by Messrs. F. H. Rawlins, M.A., and W. R. Inge, M.A., noticed in our last number as issued by Mr. John Murray, is not an old friend with a new face, but a new Eton Latin Grammar,' embody. ing the latest results of scholarship, and displaying, especially in the philological portions, such clearness of style and arrangement as will render it of general utility and commend it to advanced scholars. Le Livre for June 10 opens with a curious paper by Le Comte de Contades upon Les Livres et les Courses." In this is given a reproduction of a handsome binding for the French Racing Calendar.' A long and very readable paper on Caricature,' by M. Maurice du Seigneur, is profusely illustrated, some unpublished designs of Coinchon and Gavarni being of special interest. Caricature portraits of Gustave Flaubert and Sainte-Beuve by Eugène Giraud are masterly. PART III. of Bibliographical Notices, privately printed for Mr. Willard Fiske, deals with the texts and versions of the 'De Remediis Utriusque Fortuna' of Petrarch. It is a very elaborate and trustworthy guide to the original edition and the translations of one of the most important of Petrarch's Latin prose works. No trouble has been spared in rendering the list complete. MR. T. FISHER UNWIN has issued a revised and rewritten edition of Mr. Miller Christy's Bird-Nesting and Bird Skinning, a useful guide to British birds and their egge. Bourne's Handy Assurance Manual, 1888 (F. W. Bourne), is a useful compilation, intended as a supplement to the 'Handy Assurance Directory,' the merits of which were at once admitted. The two works will be published at equi-distant dates. by Sophie Doriot (Swan Sonnenschein & Co.); The First Books received include The Beginners' Book in French, Book of Virgil's Eneid, with interlinear translation and Guide to the most Picturesque Tour in Western Europe notes, for use in girls' high schools (same publishers); (Cork, Guy & Co.), being a capitally illustrated guide to the South of Ireland, obtainable at the Irish Exhibition, Notices to Correspondents. We must call special attention to the following notices : ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. We cannot undertake to answer queries privately. To secure insertion of communications correspondents must observe the following rule. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication "Duplicate." PAUL Q. KARKEEK, Torquay.—“Though lost to sight to memory dear "is from a song by George Linley, lived 1798-1865. See N. & Q.,' 5th S. x. 417, and passim. The question recurs every few weeks. JOHN E. NORCROSS ('The Stab ').—Anticipated. See ante, p. 458. CORRIGENDA.-P. 470, col. 1, 1. 14 from bottom, for bottom, for "up the hilts I' gad" read up to the hilts I' Mary" read Margaret; p. 495, col. 1, 1. 14 from gad. INDEX. SEVENTH SERIES.-VOL. V. [For classified articles, see ANONYMOUS WORKS, BIBLIOGRAPHY, BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED, EPIGRAMS, EPITAPHS, Accused with v. accused of, 156 Adam and his library, 249, 453 Adams (W. E.) on Joseph Ritson, 448 Adjectives in -ic, -ical, 448 Adventures of Nanny Nobb,' nonsense story, 48 Ages counted by seasons, 447 Ainsworth (W. H.), first edition of his 'Tower of Albemarle Street, tavern in, 127, 178 Algerine passports, 309 Alice on motto for chimney-porch, 96 "Work is worship," 94 Allen (J. E.) on the Goodwin Sands, 370 Allison (J. W.) on a Drake tobacco-box, 451 "Knock spots," 518 Rhino, 417 Thackeray (W. M.), his definition of humour, 473 Almouseley Isaac, temp. Haroun-al-Raschid, 249 Altar flowers, 291, 437 Alwyne, personal name, 32, 153, 234 America, Biblical note on, 50; Irishmen in, 1654, Amuss and muss, 69, 158 Anchors, nondescript, 26, 115, 198, 396 Anderson (D.) on letters in Scotch legal documents, 476 Anderson (J. S.) on car-goose, 135 Anderson (P. J.) on Gregory family, 53 Scotch academic periodicals, 31 Annas, a woman's Christian name, 37, 133, 193, 396 Anon. on aurora borealis, 46 Burials, animal sacrifice at, 466 Dante, 252 Dialect words, 26 Font, leaden, 6 Glasses which flatter, 367 Hide, old tale about, 306 'Medusa, The,' publication, 487 Anonymous Works :- Art of Dressing the Hair, 188 Club, The; or, a Grey-cap for a Green-head, 46, 77 Ferrar (Nicholas), Memoir of, 189, 337, 413 Hints towards Formation of Character, 307 Irishmen and Irishwomen, 108, 195 Jew's Granddaughter, 468 Journey through Part of England, 403 Note-book of a Retired Barrister, 47 Ozmond and Cornelia, 68, 154 Press and Public Service, 48 Reminiscences of a Scottish Gentleman, 347, 474 Sonnet to the Earl of Bothwell, 47, 113, 173 Take my Advice, 329 Treatise of the Holy Communion, 37 Ansley (Elinor Jane) inquired after, 268 66 'Pricking the belt for a wager," 52 Selden (John), his Table-Talk,' 406 Apprentice, legal, 315 Archery, its bibliography, 363 Architects, great Asiatic, their fate, 336 Argus on Sir Thomas More, 272 Armenian Christmas, 149, 236 Arndt (E. M.), his account of Orkney and Shetland, 428 Arne (Thomas Augustus), his portraits, 160 Arnold (Matthew), his death, 346, 397, 472j Asarabacca, its meaning, 128, 177 Ashton (John), Jacobite, his biography, 37 Astarte on Charles Martel, 508 Chronology, historical, 348 Restoration (?) of old buildings, 405 Unicorn, 406 Atelin, its meaning, 88, 176 Athens the Greece of Greece, 487 Atkinson (J. C.) on Wardon Abbey and its seal, 247 Aurora borealis, early references to, 46, 117; its Austin Friars, No. 21, its demolition, 305, 365, 495 Australia and Australasia, 31 Australian natives, their language, 64, 184 Australian place-names, 386 Automatic machines, early, 389 Aylesford Library, 146 Azagra (Theresa Alvarez de), her pedigree, 493 B. on "Drawback" on title-page, 328 B. (A.) on trees as boundaries, 191 B. (A. F.) on anchors, 115 B. (C. C.) on Armenian Christmas, 236 Birks, its meaning, 73 Cat's-paw, 474 Catherine wheel mark, 316 Chimneys and hospitality, 192 Cromnyomantia on Christmas Eve, 118 into England, 115 Jewels, superstitions about, 93 Landor (W. S.), 393 Supplement to the , with No. 134, July B. (G. F. R.) on Albemarle Street, 127 Bible, Bishops', 173 Castor, its introduction, 54 Garrick (David), 148 Grant (Sir Francis), 28 Grant (Sir William), 28, 273 Grant (William), Lord Preston-Grange, 7 Hewitson (Christopher), 168 'Irishmen and Irishwomen,' 195 King (John), M.P. for Enniskillen, 34 "Pretty Fanny," 511 Russell (Rev. Arthur Tozer), 36 Stafford (Granville, first Marquis of), 69 Thackeray (W. M.), his definition of humour, 235 Tilt Yard Coffee-House, 498 Whist, hand of thirteen trumps, 278 B. (G. S.) on Zennor Quoit, 54 B. (J.) on the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' 132 Vinaigre des quatre voleurs," 306 B. (W.) on Armenian Christmas, 149 B. (W. C.) on abbreviations, 313 Beestone (Mrs.), her playhouse, 306, 434 Belknappe-Swinburn on Scott family, 408 'Barnaby's Journal' and siege of Burghley House, Bell (H. T. M.) on bibliographical encyclopædia, 115 128, 241, 294, 330, 398, 494 Baronetage punning mottoes, 401 Baronetcy in blank, 125, 198 Militia clubs, 97 Berthold (H.), his Political Handkerchief,' 387 Bible, Parker's, 50; its marginal notes, 55; St. Luke Bibliographical encyclopædia wanted, 67, 115 Archery, 363 'Barnaby's Journal,' 241 Beaumarchais (P. A. C. de), 169, 337 Books, odd volumes wanted, 166, 312; dedicated Bullein (William), 388 Bunyan (John), 27, 131 Cant dictionaries, 148 Casanova (Jean Jacques), 461, 509 Catnach Press, 208 Children's books, illustrated, 221, 318 Cibber (Colley), 239 Cooke (C.), his "Topographical Library," 217 |