Summing up we may say that Byron was a writer of powerful and sometimes lofty imagination and true poetic passion. He was moreover a master craftsman and expressed the romantic ideals, the vague unrest and longings of his epoch, perfectly. He created at least one new type of literary hero, he founded a school of poetry and originated a distinct view of life. He was not a seer in the highest sense and not an architect in verse. It may be added that, as a satirist, he has no British rival in the 19th century.

If, therefore, he was not a genius of the highest order, it will be difficult to refuse him a place in the second rank.

Notes and News.

F. J. HOPMAN.

Robert Louis Stevenson. 'Traveller and student and curious as you are, you will never have heard the name of Vailima, most likely not even that of Upolu, and Samoa itself may be strange to your ears. To these barbaric seats there came the other day a yellow book with your name on the title, and filled in every page with the exquisite gifts of your art. Let me take and change your own words: J'ai beau admirer les autres de toutes mes forces, c'est avec vous que je me complais à vivre.'

This is the dedication to Stevenson's book 'Across the Plains'. He was quite fond of 'Sensations d'Italie', as may appear from the following extract from a letter to Henry James :

... Paul Bourget hagrides me. I wonder if this exquisite fellow, all made of fiddle-strings and scent and intelligence, could bear any of my bald prose. If you think he could, ask Colvin to send him a copy of these last essays of mine when they appear; and tell Bourget that they go to him from a South Sea Island as literal homage. I have read no new book for years that gave me the same literary thrill as his Sensations d'Italie. If (as I imagine) my cut-and-dry literature would be death to him, and worse than death — journalism be silent on the point. For I have a great curiosity to know him, and if he doesn't know my work, I shall have the better chance of making his acquaintance.'

Paul Bourget, however, did not send a single word in reply to the dedication. Here was disappointment. Stevenson, though always kindhearted and amiable, could not help writing to Henry James afterwards:

'I thought Bourget was a friend of yours? And I thought the French were a polite race? He has taken my dedication with a stately silence that has surprised me into apoplexy. Did I go and dedicate my book to the nasty alien, and the horrid Frenchman, and the stately Furrineer? Well, I wouldn't do it again; and unless his case is susceptible of explanation, you might perhaps tell him so over the walnuts and the wine, by way of speeding the gay hours. Sincerely, I thought my dedication worth a letter.'

From what I have copied thus far, one might think that Stevenson was a forgotten outcast on some Pacific isle, even while he lived. If it were true, how much more would he be forgotten now, as he is lying on the top of Vaea Mountain, his inkstand dry and his pen lying rusty. Those who love him know better. I am almost sure that the number of friends that have known him in the flesh are only a few compared to the host of admirers that in all parts of the world love him through his books, on account of his indomitable good-humour, his fancifulness, his courage, his kindness and his inimitable style. Reading his books goes a good way towards loving him.

Though his health compelled him to live far from his friends, his mind flew back ever and again to the beloved hills of home, 'where the whaups are crying, his heart remembered how'. His friends thronged to make him forget his exilement and when he suddenly died in December 1894, the articles to commemorate him showered from the pens and in prose and verse people mourned over his loss. The all-prevailing feeling culminated in a poem by W. Robertson Nicoll of which I quote the last verse:

We have lost him, we have found him:

Mother, he was fain

Nimbly to retrace his footsteps;

Take his life again

To the breast that first had warmed him,
To the tried and true, -

He has come, our well beloved,
Scotland, back to you!

Small wonder, that Scotland does not forget him and that, even twenty-five years after his death, there was instituted by a great many of his former friends and posthumous admirers, the Robert Louis Stevenson Club at Edinburgh. The objects of the Club are to hold meetings at which lectures, addresses etc. may be given bearing on the life and works of R. L. S., to collect and preserve manuscripts, letters, portraits, and other articles connected with Stevenson, to form a library of the various editions of his works and of standard literature dealing with his life and works and to exhibit to the public the collection so formed; to foster interest in Stevenson's life and works by the establishment of Scholarships, Prizes etc. in the Schools and Universities of Scotland and such other purposes as the Committee may from time to time determine.

-

In March 1920 the house No. 8 Howard Place in which Stevenson was born, came into the market. It was decided to acquire it for the Club, in order to secure a permanent home for a museum of Stevensoniana in the most appropriate place for such a purpose.

A good many books, portraits, manuscripts and articles that have belonged to Stevenson, have been collected and, until possession of No. 8 Howard Place will be obtained, placed in the City Museum.

A sum of about £ 300 yet remains to be found before the price of the house is cleared off.

I am quite ignorant of the number of admirers and lovers of Stevenson in this country, but if there should be one or more among the readers of this paper, I doubt not but they will gladly take part in the raising of a lasting monument in honour of the beloved writer.

As a member of the Club I am quite to willing forward any amount, however small, to the Committee and I shall readily give any information about the Club that might be asked.

Admiraal van Gentstraat 4, Utrecht.

G. LEOPOLD.

English Association in Holland. Under the auspices of the 'Hollandsche Concertdirectie' Dr. G. de Koos, Mr. Clive Carey, of the English Singers, will give a series of concerts of English vocal music at The Hague (April 1), Amsterdam (5), Haarlem (7), Nijmegen (8) and Hilversum (10). Concerts will also be given before the Arnhem branch of the Genootschap Nederland

Engeland, on April 4, and before the Enschede branch of the English Association on the 11th. At some of the other places arrangements have been made by which members of the E. A. shall be admitted free or at reduced prices. The programme will consist of English songs of various periods. Considering the splendid reputation the English Singers earned for themselves last autumn, members will do well not to miss these concerts.

In the early part of May, Mr. Arthur Weigall, late Inspector-General of Antiquities for the Egyptian Government, will give a series of lantern lectures on Tut-Ankh-Amen: the Mystery and Romance of his Tomb. It will be unnecessary to enlarge on the interest of this subject. The dates have been fixed as follows: The Hague, May 6th; Haarlem, 7th; Arnhem, 8th; Nijmegen, 9th; Amsterdam, 10th.

Information Bureau. The applications for suitable addresses for residence in England that have kept coming in even during the winter months prove that the services of the Bureau continue to be appreciated. Information has been supplied in all cases, but many members have neglected to report their experiences when returned. Yet the efficiency of the Bureau depends on this very point, the principle being that no addresses are given unless reliable recommendation has been received.

Applications, accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope, should be directed to Frederika Quanjer, 24 Weissenbruchstraat, The Hague. Special requirements should be stated, as no complete lists can be sent out. Members of the English Association may avail themselves of the services of the Bureau free of charge; other applicants should pay a fee of one guilder, which will at the same time cover a year's subscription for general membership.

A Japanese Book Collector. We have received the Catalogue of the Library of Sanki Ichikawa, Professor of English Philology in the Imperial University of Tokyo. Part I. English and Comparative Philology. Tokyo, 1924. Privately Printed. 194 pp. The professor explains that the inadequacy of the University Library, and the insufficient means at its disposal, have induced him to spend what time and money he could dispose of on the formation of a library of books on English. His ambition "to form one of the largest linguistic libraries in the world" is certainly one very difficult to realize, even if we take it to mean private libraries. The result, at present, is very remarkable, however. A good many of the older books, which had been stored (for the sake of greater security!) in the Seminar Library of the University, have unfortunately been lost in the fires following upon the earthquake. But what has been destroyed is not the most important or most considerable part from a practical point of view. In general philology, i.e. linguistics, the library has most of the modern books of first-rate importance, and a great many others. We only noted the absence in this department of van Ginneken's Principes de linguistique psychologique. But Wundt and Delbrück, as well as Paul, Dittrich, Brugmann, F. de Saussure (Cours) and Meillet, figure in the lists; of the older authors W. von Humboldt, Bopp, Steinthal, v. d. Gabelentz, Fr. Müller and Pott. English Language and Literature comprises pages 81-194. We were pleased to find that Dutch works have not been neglected: the names of Poutsma, Günther, Roorda and Kruisinga show that Modern English is taken as seriously as the earlier periods. Of course there is no question of completeness, in fact there can be none. The

author promises the addition of a second part containing his collection of books and pamphlets relating to English literature; these are included in the present volume only in so far as they deal with metre, style and Vocabulary. The catalogue as a whole shows that all parts of English Studies are now finding students in Japan. When completed, it should form a valuable bibliographical asset.

Gedenkbundel Drie Talen 1924. The miscellany in honour of the fortieth year of issue of De Drie Talen has now appeared. It contains a number of articles on French, German and English. Most of the articles deal with some aspect of language, a few with literary matters. The character of the articles, too, differs widely, some treating a question for the benefit of beginners, others taking the opportunity of the special volume to enlarge the field so that they interest more advanced students. Of the latter kind, which naturally interests us most, are the articles by Mr. de Boer (in the French part), the literary articles by Mr. van Dam and Mr. Friedemann (in the German part), and Mr. Poutsma in the English section. The most interesting is no doubt Mr. Schutt's article on the aims (fortunately not chiefly on the methods) of modern language teaching. If it were generally thought that a practical knowledge of the modern language is not all that can be taught by modern language masters, their position would be a more respected one, both within the schools and without them, than it generally is now.

Bryn Mawr Scholarships. Dr. A. J. Barnouw, the Queen Wilhelmina Professor of Dutch in Columbia University, New York, writes to enlist our interest in the nine scholarships for European women given annually by Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania. These scholarships are open to all women who have had university training equivalent to that denoted by the Bachelor's degree of an American University. The circular states that Scandinavian women should hold the Cand. Philol. or its equivalent; we take it that the same will apply to Dutch women students. The scholarships are offered for one year only, and provide for free board, lodging and tuition, additional expenses being for the student's own account. Graduate instruction is given at the College in various branches of Literature, Philology, History and Science. Applications for the scholarships should be received by May first, and addressed to 'The Recording Dean of Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U. S. A.'

Oxford Holiday Course. A Vacation Course in the English language and literature for foreign students will be held in Oxford from July 29 to August 16. The general subject of the lectures will be Contemporary England: its Political, Social and Economic Life, and its Language and Literature. The Lecturers include Prof. H. C. Wyld, Sir Henry Penson, Mr. H. Alexander, the Rev. F. E. Hutchinson, and others. The fee for the whole course is £ 4.-, for either half of the course (July 29-August 7, or August 8-16) £ 2.10.-. Enquiries should be addressed to the Rev. F. E. Hutchinson, M. A., University Extension Delegacy, Acland House, Oxford.

A-Examination 1923. We quote the following from the Report in the Bijvoegsel tot de Ned. Staatscourant, 23 Jan. 1924, no. 16:

"Voor de akte middelbaar onderwijs A zijn dus geslaagd ruim 35 pct. van de vrouwelijke en ruim 45 pct. van de mannelijke candidaten, gemiddeld ruim 40 pct. Voor de vrouwelijke was de uitslag iets gunstiger, voor de mannelijke daarentegen veel gunstiger dan verleden jaar, toen de cijfers achtereenvolgens 32, 33 en ruim 32 pct. waren.

In aansluiting aan de opmerking omtrent de spraakkunst, in het verslag van het vorige jaar, meent de commissie nogmaals de aandacht te moeten vestigen op de onvoldoende wijze, waarop tal van candidaten dit gedeelte van het examen bestudeeren. Verscheidene hunner bleken in het geheel geen kennis te hebben genomen van wat in de laatste jaren op dit gebied is verschenen. Regels, waarvan de onjuistheid herhaaldelijk is aangetoond, werden nog maar al te vaak ondoordacht verkondigd. Voor een deel moeten misschien de tekortkomingen der candidaten in dit opzicht geweten worden aan het feit, dat zij niet zelden hun opleiding zoeken bij personen, die zelf nog niet eens de volledige bevoegdheid bezitten."

Translation.

1. At last Ida was allowed to go out, was well wrapped up and escorted by Nurse in a short walk for the good of her health. 2. It was not very amusing, but the air was fresh and the change pleasant for her, although the street did not prove so cheerful as it had appeared from the nursery window. 3. In the evening Ida was sent for by her uncle. 4. She had not been downstairs since she had been taken ill. 5. The interviews with the reserved old gentleman were always formal and uncomfortable, from which Ida escaped with a sense of relief, and that evening, being still weak with her recent illness, her nervousness almost rose to terror. 6. Nurse did her best in the way of encouragement: it was true that Ida's uncle was not exactly a cheerful gentleman, but there was such a nice dessert! 7. What more could a nice young lady desire than to wear her best frock and to eat almonds and raisins in the dining-room as if she were the mistress of the house? 8. "Yet I am sorry for the child", Nurse confided to the old man-servant after she had brought Ida to her uncle, "for his appearance would frighten a grown(-up) person, let alone a child. 9. And do you go in presently, like a good soul, if you can think of an excuse and let her see a cheerful face." 10. But before the kind-hearted servant could find a plausible pretext for entering the dining-room and giving Ida an encouraging smile from behind his master's chair, she was in the nursery once more.

11. She had honestly tried to make herself agreeable. 12. She had made a faultless curtsey at the door weak as she was she had taken her place at the head of the table with all dignity and had replied nicely enough to her uncle's inquiries after her health, and anxious to keep up the conversation, had told him that the hedge was budding. 13. "What's that about the hedge ?" he had asked rather sharply, and when Ida repeated her bit of spring news, he had not seemed to be much interested. 14. It was no part of the gardener's work. 15. Ida relapsed into silence, and so did her uncle. 16. He had sharp eyes and bushy eyebrows, from under which he was apt to scrutinize Ida in a way that scattered all her presence of mind. 17. This night of all nights she found his eyes upon her oftener than usual.