have their biographies in the same volume. Leighton's Procession of Cimabue's Madonna' and "Cymon and Iphigenia' are given with his life by the late Cosmo Monkhouse. 'Christ in the House of His Parents' supplies a specimen of Millais, whose life is from the same source. 'Libraries' are discussed by Mr. H. R. Tedder, a recognized authority. Most interesting particulars concerning public libraries are advanced. The Hon. D. Herbert Putnam gives full information concerning the libraries of the United States. A well-illustrated account of Lifeboats' is by Mr. Charles Dibdin, and one of Lighthouses,' which is very instructive, is by the builder of the new Eddystone lighthouse. Light' itself is treated by Dr. C. G. Knoll. Prof. Dewar naturally supplies the account of Liquid Gases,' on which subject he is the greatest authority. This is an article of deepest interest and is fully illustrated. Local Government,' which also is outside our ken, is dealt with by Mr. Macmorran. Prof. Case writes on Logic,' and Mr. H. B. Wheatley has an all-important share in the account of London. Major Barlow writes on Machine Guns,' and the Rev. James Sibree upon 'Madagascar,' the latter, a difficult subject, being judiciously treated. Mr. Maskelyne is part author of the portion of the work dealing with Magic,' by which, of course, is meant illusion. Magnetism,' by Dr. Bidwell, also an article of the utmost importance, describes the experimental work which has been carried out since the appearance of the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia.' With it must be compared Terrestrial Magnetism,' two subjects which demand very special knowledge in the critic. Malaria' has at the present moment profound interest, on account of the investigations into the mosquito parasitic theory. The rules to be observed by dwellers in India or in the tropics generally are extremely important. No European house should be less than half a mile from a native village. Malay Archipelago,' 'Malay Peninsula,' and 'Malay States' (federated) are a leash of articles all of extra importance. 'Mammalia' comes next, and contains, among other illustrations, the superb coloured design of the Okapi. Very great additions to previous knowledge are chronicled. Mr. Lyddeker, F.R.S., is responsible for the account. Jacob Maris's life is accompanied by a reproduction of A Village Scene.' 'Marriage Laws' have seen a great change since 1883. These are described by Mr. Barclay for Europe, and Mr. Wilcox for America. Martial Law is in the hands of the Deputy-Judge-Advocate-General, Sir John Scott. The sad life of Maupassant is told, and a startling opinion is expressed upon his work. Measuring Instruments' is quite a new subject. Medicine is in the hands of Dr. Clifford Allbutt. Many will turn to the exposition of the Monroe doctrine given by Prof. Woolsey. Pictorial illustrations to Claude Monet and Albert Moore attract attention in an admirable volume.

By

Historical Introductions to the Rolls Series.
Wm. Stubbs, D.D. Edited by Arthur Hassall,
M.A. (Longmans & Co.)

THE introductions contributed by the late Bishop of Oxford to the Rolls Series constitute some of the most valuable of his historical work. It may not, of course, be said that they are buried in the series in which they appear. It is, however, at least certain that they have with the majority of scholars to be looked for or come upon there, and have not hitherto been counted with the author's recognized historical

labours, of which they form an important and, in fact, essential portion. To earnest students the value of the introductions is well known. Such are aware that they are an absolutely priceless guide to the times of Henry II., Richard 1., John, Edward I., and Edward II. Libraries in which the Rolls Series are comprised are, however, fewer than might have been hoped, considering the conditions of their issue, and there are very many workers in remote districts to whom access to them is denied. These remarks may seem to be advanced as a plea for a publication that stands in need of no advocacy or defence. Sooner or later, when the complete works of Dr. Stubbs are published, these must necessarily have been included among them, and when the consent of the Controller of the Stationery Office to their collection and reissue had once been obtained, the sooner they were given to the world the greater the boon. The works are not reprinted in their entirety. The preliminary portions are epitomized by Mr. Hassall, and a few hiatuses, presumably pardonable, are found in the course or at the end of each introduction, the effect being to compress into a volume of five to six hundred pages all that is indispensable to the historian. Very few and-so far as we can judge, since we have not compared the text with that of the original series-unimportant are the omissions, detracting no wise from the delight and advantage of the reader. Eleven essays are there in all, dealing virtually with six or, it may be said, seven works. These are 'The Memorials of St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury'; 'The Historical Works of Ralph de Diceto, Dean of London'; Benedict of Peterborough's Chronicle of the Reigns of Henry II. and Richard I.,' vols. i. and ii. ; The Chronicle of Roger of Hoveden,' vols. ii., iii., iv.; Chronicles and Memorials of the Reign of Richard I.,' vols. i. and ii.; and Walter of Coventry's Historical Collections and Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward I. and II.,' vols. i. and ii.

It is obviously impossible to deal in extenso with what, after all, is not a new work. It may perhaps be said that the preface to The Chronicle of the Reigns of Henry II. and Richard I.,' known commonly under the name of Benedict of Peterborough, is the boon for which the student will be most grateful. In the previous articles on Ralph de Diceto we have deeply interesting comment on the importance of the position of the Dean of St. Paul's, St. Paul's itself being at the head of the secular clergy of Southern England, a great educational centre, and the mother church of one hundred and twenty churches. Very interesting is the account of the quasi-collegiate establishment of the cathedral and of the hospitality of its residents, by whom illustrious strangers were entertained at great cost. In the later chronicle we have more of those brilliant characterizations which are a special feature in Dr. Stubbs's work. What is said concerning the character of the Angevin kings-two only of whom, Edward I. and Henry VI., the noblest and the unhappiest of the race," are exempt from the censure-is absolutely stirring: "All the Plantagenet kings were high-hearted men, rather rebellious against circumstances than subservient to them. But the long pageant shows us uniformly, under so great a variety of individual character, such signs of great gifts and opportunities thrown away, such unscrupulousness in action, such uncontrolled passion, such vast energy and strength wasted on unworthy aims, such constant failure and final

disappointment, in spite of constant successes and brilliant achievements, as remind us of the conduct and luck of those unhappy spirits who, throughout the Middle Ages, were continually spending superhuman strength in building in a night inaccessible bridges and uninhabitable castles, or purchasing with untold treasures souls that might have been had for nothing." Little in Clarendon or Gibbon is better than the account of Henry II. It is unfortunately forbidden us to quote further, but our readers will be wise to turn again to these passages, pp. 92-3. The controversion, p. 168, of the views of Sir F. Palgrave should be restudied, as should the expression, p. 181, concerning the effect of the Norman Conquest in introducing England into the family of European nations. Very striking is the picture, p. 316, of the first Richard, and the comparison which follows between Richard and Saladin is admirable. In the account of the historical collections of Walter of Coventry the character supplied of King John cannot fail to arrest attention. It is the best account we possess of that vilest of Angevin kings, and disposes summarily and finally of the heresies that have been heard concerning that monarch's reputed statesmanship. Few contributions to historical knowledge are more important or more welcome than this volume, which fills up what is virtually a gap in our knowledge.

A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage, and Companionage. By Sir Bernard Burke, C.B. Edited by Ashworth P. Burke. (Harrison & Sons.)

AMONG the works of reference for the year 1903 the place of honour is once more assigned to Burke's 'Peerage,' a book the authority of which is sometimes challenged without being much disparaged, and the popularity and utility of which remain virtually unassailed. The present is announced as the sixty-fifth edition. As will readily be believed, the bestowal of honours in a year so crowded with events of historic dignity and importance as that just past involves numerous changes in the annals of titled families. Rewards for distinguished service in connexion with the victories both of war and peace have been liberally accorded, and the volume which chronicles these will have signal and enduring interest. We mark personally in the list of those who have died during the year many close and constant friends, including one or two such as Sir George F. Duckett, whose title is extinct. Such consolation as can be reaped is found in the fact that the list of new-created honours is almost equally full. "Burke" complains that the succession to baronetcies is often a matter of much difficulty to determine, and suggests, in order to purge the order of the usurpers of styles and titles for which there is no warrant, an official roll of baronets, to contain the names of those who have proved their right to the satisfaction of the law officers of the Crown and, in complex cases, before a judge of the High Court. The foundation of two new ordersthe Order of Merit and the Imperial Service Order, the latter open to both sexes-is reported. In the lists that are given almost every phase of public life and every kind of success which the country delights to honour are, as the editor asserts, represented. Once more Mr. Ashworth Burke counts among those who have assisted him Garter, Ulster, Lyon, and all the officers of the Heralds' College, London. In addition to other

claims, then, which genealogists and antiquaries are used to recognize, the work has all the sanction which authority can confer. As to the changes which have been wrought in cases such as that of the earldom of Perth and Melfort-the former of which passes to Viscount Strathallan, while the latter becomes extinct or dormant-the reader must be referred to the book itself. So far as we are aware, no other country possesses a guide at once so full, so picturesque, and so trustworthy as this to its aristocracy and ennobled classes. The miscellaneous information for which we have been accustomed to look at the close of the volume is to be found in its place. For over two generations the conduct of Burke" has been in admirably competent hands.

66

The Englishwoman's Year-Book and Directory, 1903. Edited by Emily Janes. (A. & C. Black.) THE editor of The Englishwoman's Year-Book' claims that the work, which now appears for the twenty-third year and the fifth year of the new issue, covers ground occupied by no other book. She has been assisted in different sections by many recognized female authorities, and the compilation gives the best idea obtainable of women's work and interests. It supplies much curious information which may be looked for in vain elsewhere.

THE Library Journal, which is issued by the American Library Association, contains information of practical utility to every one occupied in providing England with public book-rooms; and the Publishers' Weekly, which is the American booktrade journal, may be consulted for information relating to the literature now appearing in the United States.

Fotices to Correspondents.

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ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

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spondents must observe the following rules. 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. When answering queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. queries are requested to head the second comCorrespondents who repeat munication "Duplicate."

H. ("Poem by Swinburne").-The Triumph of Time,' 'Poems and Ballads,' stanzas xli.-xliii. pp. 52-3.

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