MATHEMATICAL.-June 13.-Dr. H. F. Baker, President, in the chair.-The following papers were communicated: by Mr. H. Hilton, 'Some Properties of Symmetric and Orthogonal Substitutions'; Prof. F. R. Moulton, Closed Orbits of Ejection and Related Periodic Orbits'; Prof. W. H. Young, (1)' On a Certain Series of Fourier,' (2) The Fourier Series of Bounded Functions'; Mr. G. N. Watson, Some Properties of the Extended Zeta-Function'; and Miss H. P. Hudson, Curves of Contact of any Order on Algebraic Surfaces.' GEOLOGICAL. June 5.-Prof. W. W. Watts, V.P., in the chair.-Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins read a paper o. The Further Evidence of Borings as to the Range of the South-Eastern Coalfield and of the Paleozoic Floor, and as to the Thickness of the Overlying Strata.' Mr. C. J. Gilbert, Dr. J. W. Evans, and the Chairman contributed to the discussion, and the author of the paper replied.-Mr. J. W. Stather read a paper on Shelly Clay dredged from the Dogger Bank.' Mr. C. Reid, Mr. A. S. Kennard, Mr. S. H. Warren, and Mr. H. Whitehead took part in the discussion.-The following specimens and map were exhibited as illustrations of the papers: Specimens from borings in the SouthEastern Coalfield and the Paleozoic Floor of Southern England, by Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins; moorlog and specimens of " and shelly clay dredged from the Dogger Bank, by Mr. J. W. Stather. MEETINGS NEXT WEEK. MON. Geographical, 8.30. WED. Institute of British Architects, 8.30. covery of a Fossil-bearing Horizon in the Permian Rocks of Actions, Mr. R. J. Strutt; Morphological Studies of Benzene Derivatives: III. Para-dibromo-benzene-sulphonates (Isomorphous) of the "Rare Earth" Elements-a Means of Elements, Prof. H. E. Armstrong and Mr. E. H. Rodd; 'Optical Rotatory Dispersion: Part I. The Natural and determining the Directions of Valency in Trodat Magnetic Rotatory Dispersion in Quartz of Light in the Visible Region of the Spectrum,' Dr. T. M. Lowry; and other Papers. waves emanate from the Tower each evening exactly at 11h. 45m. Os., 11h. 47m. Os., and 11h. 49m. Os., Greenwich mean time, to supply navigating officers at sea, railway companies, or any to whom such knowledge is important, with the accurate time of the prime meridian. But for some purposes a more accurate comparison of clocks than these signals can give is necessary, and to meet this want signals are sent consisting of a series of beats at equal intervals rather longer than one second, the signal beats losing one in 120 on mean time. The method of comparison by coincidences in such a series is well-known. PROF. KÜSTNER, the Director of the Observatory at Bonn, has reported to the Astronomical Institute at Kiel that he has discovered the spectra of both uranium and radium in the new star in Gemini. The uranium seems to be in the ordinary metallic form, but the radium in that of the gas or emanation which Sir William Ramsay calls Niton. If this discovery is confirmed by other observers, it should be of great importance, not only in cosmogonical speculations, but also in chemistry, as showing in some measure that the disintegration of the highly radio-active substances plays its part in the formation of new stars. PROF. WEGENER (of Marburg), at a recent Warwickshire Coal-Field, Mr. R. D. Vernon; On the Dis meeting of the Geologische Vereinigung at Frankfort, gave a new theory of the forma tion of inequalities in the earth's surface, which he declared to be partly due to the sinking of certain parts from the weight of ice piled upon them. This, in its turn, leads, according to him, to the gradual separation of the higher parts of continents, and he gave figures by which he sought to show that the shores of Greenland, during the last eighty-four years, have receded from Europe by a space of 940 metres. In the same way, he said, Cambridge, Massachusetts, has increased its distance from Greenwich by 90 metres in the course of twenty-six years. The figures on which these calculations are based are, it has been pointed out, already ten years old, and more correct ones could now be obtained. Society of Antiquaries, 8.30. Science Gossip. THE ASTRONOMER ROYAL will be "At Home on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 3rd, when his guests will have an opportunity of inspecting the telescopes and other instruments of the Royal Observatory. SIR ALMROTH WRIGHT will give a lecture at the Royal Societies' Club next Wednesday evening on Microbes and the Way the Body Protects Itself against Them,' with lantern-slide illustrations. A SERIES of meetings, lectures, and exhibitions which make up the programme of the Optical Convention, 1912, is being held during the current fortnight, principally in the Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington. This week the members of the Convention have met the Physical Society and the Photographic. On Monday next, after papers dealing specially with colour and spectra, a visit will be made to the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. Tuesday will be devoted to optics as applied to astronomy, and some members of the Convention will visit the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, at the invitation of the Astronomer Royal. The programme will come to an end on Wednesday. IT is to be gathered from a contemporary that it has been found possible for certain possessors of wireless-telegraphy receiving apparatus in the neighbourhood of London to detect the time-signals sent out from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. By co-operation with the Paris Observatory, signals by Hertzian M. L. RAYBAUD has recently made some experiments as to the effect of ultra-violet light upon insects which go to show that it is fatal to certain species. Working with a mercury-vapour lamp, he found that it produced first torpor, and then death within the space of a few hours, in snails, houseflies, and tadpoles, while spiders and the sacred scarabæus remained unaffected by it. Young grasshoppers succumbed to the radiation within two days, while adults supported it for a week without apparent inconvenience. The experiments perhaps explain the objection which many insects appear to manifest to strong sunlight. THE EARLY NATURALISTS: THEIR LIVES AND WORK (1530-1789),' by Dr. L. C. Miall, is announced for early publication by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. The Introduction to the work deals with natural history down to the sixteenth century. The rest of the book is divided into nine sections, which treat respectively of: (1) The New Biology; (2) The Natural History of Distant Lands; (3) Some Early English Naturalists; (4) Ray and some of his Fellow-Workers; (5) The Minute Anatomists; (6) Early Studies in Comparative Anatomy; (7) The School of Réaumur; (8) Linnæus and the Jussieus; (9) Buffon. In selecting his authors Dr. Miall has aimed at giving fair space to the pioneers who opened out new fields of inquiry or introduced new methods, rather than workers at details. FINE ARTS NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. [Notice in these columns does not preclude longer review.] "EIGHT Clark (J. Cooper), THE STORY OF DEER IN CODEX COLOMBINO, 21/ net. Taylor & Francis A book produced for the Eighteenth Congress of Americanists concerning a curious series of crude pictures in vivid colours on carefully prepared deerskin. This record, now called the Codex Colombino, is preserved in the National Museum of Mexico, is the only MS. of its class there, and is incomplete both at the beginning and the end. By the aid of comparison with five other codices-one of them is the Zouche or Nuttall Codex, another is Bodleian, No. 2858 Mr. Clark makes out very ingeniously the meaning of the pictographs and hieroglyphics which represent the early Mexican form of writing. The group of codices was, he suggests, the work of Zapotecs, and "Eight Deer," also called "Ocelot's Claw," was a Zapotec warrior, and was born probably in 1439. We see him conferring with his sister and younger brother, the latter being dressed in a coat with a multicoloured fringe and border which is still worn by the Indian women of Mexico. Besides scenes of war, the pictures show a ball game_of great difficulty; the piercing of Eight Deer's ear with a sharpened bone, one of various penances; the piercing of his nostril to wear a nose ornament; the exchanging of his marriage; symbols of peace; sacrifice of his brother above-mentioned by priests; and finally his own death in a similar way on his fifty-second birthday. the Not all these details are given in the Codex Colombino, but they are worked out from the others, which also supply some pictures in colours with the glyphs which The illustrations identify the characters. thus make comparative criticism easy. We Clark on congratulate Mr. a work of fascinating interest, bringing, as it does, before us the manners and customs of a highly primitive society. Notes on the Parish Church, Lymington, and the Daughter Church of All Saints, and Other Matters Ecclesiastical, compiled from Various Sources by Charles Bostock and Edward Hapgood, 3/ net. Lymington, King The authors acknowledge that this record is largely a compilation from research already accessible in various forms. The book, however, is useful, though there does not appear to be much discrimination in the The history has information imparted. been assiduously collected. Official Crests of the British Army now in Daily Use, 1/ net. Gale & Polden Town Planning Review, APRIL, 2/6 net. Liverpool University Press Webb (Wilfred Mark), THE HERITAGE OF DRESS, Revised Edition. 'The Times' Book Club This edition has been little amplified and modified from the original one. It is issued in a more compact form, without undergoing the "potting" process. We criticized the book in The Athenæum of February 1st, 1908 (pp. 124-5). The author, who writes interestingly of the evolution of dress, might, as we pointed out, have recognized that certain colourings and prominences in dress have a utilitarian rather than orna mental raison d'être. There are 12 plates and 169 figures in the text. Fine Art Gossip. WE congratulate Dr. Charles Waldstein and Dr. Charles H. Read, prominent exponents of archæology, on their knighthoods. MESSRS. ERNEST BROWN & PHILLIPS have been fortunate in discovering an interesting collection of hitherto unknown water-colour drawings by Thomas Girtin, and they will be included in their forthcoming exhibition of English drawings and water-colours, with special reference to the art of Thomas Girtin," which opens on the 28th inst. at the Leicester Galleries, Leicester Square. The drawings have not been exposed to the daylight, and are in a fine state of pre 66 servation. Girtin was born in 1775, and died at the early age of 27, and authentic works by him are rare. His influence on many painters of his time was considerable, notably on Turner, his friend from boyhood. SIR CHARLES HOLROYD presided at a crowded meeting at Crosby Hall, held under the auspices of the Society of Mural Decorators and Painters in Tempera. Prof. Selwyn Image spoke of the new enthusiasm of art-lovers for mural painting, and Mr. Walter Crane pleaded for larger freedom for the young artist. Owing to the great interest shown in the exhibition at Crosby Hall, it will remain open a further week, until next Saturday. THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has purchased for the permanent collection at the Luxembourg Museum a pastel entitled 'Effet d'Hiver Matin,' by Mr. Wynford Dewhurst, a collection of whose works was recently exhibited at the Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris. THE issue of the first annual volume of the Walpole Society, which should have been in the hands of subscribers last month, has been unavoidably delayed owing to difficulties experienced in the printing of the colour collotypes. These difficulties have now been overcome, and the volume will be issued in about a fortnight. The chief feature of the volume is the complete transcript of Nicholas Hilliard's hitherto unpublished manuscript on 'The Arte of Limning,' now in the possession of the University of Edinburgh. MR. BASIL CHAMPNEYS is to be presented with the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects next Monday at 8.30 P.M. A JOINT COMMITTEE of both Houses of Parliament met this week, under the presidency of Lord Plymouth, to discuss the necessity of legislation for the preservation of ancient monuments. It was suggested during the sitting that the Government Consolidation and Amendment Bill was inadequate to meet present needs. The protection of the State required more comprehensive application. It was proposed that the Advisory Committee should compile a list of the monuments that it was indispensable to safeguard. We are cordially in sympathy with this proposition. So scandalous a piece of Philistinism as the remark about a golf course-that the Roman camp would make a fine natural hazard"-should be impossible. WE learn from a Munich correspondent that the Royal Academy of Sciences in that that the Royal Academy of Sciences in that capital has conferred its silver medal "Bene merenti" upon Mr. G. E. R. Grant Brown, I.C.S., Deputy Commissioner of the Upper Chindwin District in Burma, for the services which he was able to render to Prof. Lucian Scherman's Ethnographical Expedition, 1911, undertaken on behalf of the Bavarian Ethnographical Museum. M. SVONOROS has an article in The Archeocontends that the statue of Eubouleus found logical Journal of Athens, in which he at Eleusis is not intended for that god, but for Iacchus, or, in other words, the reborn Dionysus. He further thinks that its type was fixed by the famous group of Demeter, Core, and Iacchus which Pausanias tells us was, in his time, still to be seen at Athens in the temple of Demeter called the Iaccheum, from which started the procession along the Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis for the celebration of the Mysteries. The article is well illustrated by cuts showing the likeness of the head of the so-called statue of Eubouleus to that of Iacchus as typified on several bas-reliefs, coins, and the like. M. ALFRED LOISY, in his just-published work L'Évangile selon Marc,' again draws attention to the difference which he thinks he perceives between the historical Jesus of the Gospels and the Christ of St. Paul. The distinguished Modernist points out the likeness between the saviour God of St. Paul and the deities of the pagan mysteries, such as Osiris, Adonis, or Attis, who died for the salvation of mankind. M. Salomon Reinach, in mentioning the book, draws Reitzenstein's treatise on Die Hellenistattention to its indebtedness to Dr. R. ischen Mysterienreligion,' published two years ago, and says that M. Loisy's theory would be more plausible if we supposed two centuries to elapse between the death of Jesus and the appearance of the Pauline doctrine. MR. G. A. WAINWRIGHT describes in the current number of the Revue Archéologique a so-called prehistoric cemetery which he and Mr. Bushe-Fox discovered during the past winter at El Gerzeh, about forty miles south of Cairo. In a burial hitherto undisturbed he discovered a skeleton in the crouched or contracted position, with a necklace composed of gold; carnelian, agate, and iron beads; a copper harpoon; an ivory pot, and apparently one of black-topped red pottery. This would seem to be conclusive as to the early presence of iron in Egypt, were it not for Dr. Naville's experiences at Abydos, which showed, according to him, that the prehistoric or predynastic mode of burial in the crouched position went on concurrently with extended burials and into late historic times. MUSIC "THE CHILDREN OF DON.' THIS new opera, by Mr. Josef Holbrooke and "T. E. Ellis," was produced at the London Opera House last Saturday evening, under the direction of Herr Arthur Nikisch. It is the first of three dramas to form a trilogy dealing with the war of man against the gods of darkness, and in turning to Cymric mythology the librettist has attempted achievement somewhat on the scale of Wagner's trilogy. The magic cauldron, for instance, may be regarded as a material substitute in the scheme for the ring. Gwydion, a kind of Siegfried, gains possession of the cauldron, but afterwards revolts against Math, chief priest of the Druids, at whose instigation he seized it. At the opening of the piece he slays King Arawn, its possessor; and, at the close, Math. Nodens, a male Erda, foretells a spacious future for the race of Don, of whom Gwydion is a son; while Dylan, the child who is seen at the end of the third act, is the son of Elan, Gwydion's sister. Gwydion's rape of the magic "cauldron of inspiration and science," of which Taliesin sang, constitutes the main feature Some portions of the of the Prologue. poem are excellent, but, considered as a whole, it is not well constructed for a music-drama. The action is fettered to the discussion. Neither the gods nor the men, Gwydion and his brother Govannon, and still less the two women, Elan and Goewn, stimulate the imagination. In reading the poem one can understand the reason of much that they say, but when the words are sung (none too distinctly) it is difficult to grasp their meaning. is unhappy, or angry, or cursing. Wagner There is a lack of contrast: everybody is unhappy, or angry, or cursing. Wagner sometimes prolongs a mood, and Wotan is not free from loquacity, but his contrasts sphere of Cimmerian gloom, no comparison are always striking. Through the atmowith 'The Ring' is possible. Mr. Holbrooke had no easy task when he undertook to set the poem to music, and it would be interesting to know whether he had anything to do with the shaping of it. The Prelude, in which were heard themes afterwards connected with the chief dramatis persona, proved dramatic in character, but after that dullness set in, with the exception of a few passages, such as "I have pride. Fierce as your own," when Elan replies to Gwydion's question What seek you? The vocal parts throughout lacked rhythmical life. In the dignified instrumental sequel to the slaying of Math by Gwydion it seemed as if the drama would end with an imposing climax; but there was none. The orchestral music seemed to have principally engaged the composer's attention, and a study of the score would doubtless reveal much that was clever which escaped notice at a first hearing. The lack of genuine dramatic interest, however, made that music too prominent, and, as much of it was head work, interest, at moments excited, could not be maintained. Madame Augusta Doria, Miss Gertrude Blomfield, and Madame Jomelli impersonated Elan, Don, and Goewin respectively; and Mr. Alan Turner as Gwydion, and Mr. Henry Weldon as Math, sang and acted with due energy. The performance generally was not all that could be desired, but allowances must be made for a first night, as the work is far from easy. Herr Nikisch is a great conductor, yet' his skill and influence notwithstanding, the orchestral playing was not free from reproach. He appeared over-anxious. Musical Gossip. AT the Mengelberg-Schelling concert, at Queen's Hall last Saturday afternoon, a remarkable performance was given of Strauss's 'Ein Heldenleben.' Great conductors have their moments of special inspiration; also they are influenced by certain composers whose works make a special appeal to them. Steinberg is the interpreter par excellence of Brahms; Mengelberg of Strauss. On Saturday not only were the nobility and emotional power of the symphony fully revealed, but even portions which have aroused controversy were presented with compelling power. M. Schelling's performance of the pianoforte part of Beethoven's E flat Concerto though praiseworthy, was scarcely a strong reading. THE appearance of M. Paderewski in London to play Chopin's F minor Concerto at the final concert of the London Symphony Orchestra last Monday at Queen's Hall was indeed welcome. The Larghetto breathes the true spirit of romance. Pachmann plays it beautifully, but with far less spirituality than Paderewski. A performalso given of Saint-Saëns's Concerto in c minor, the one with organ which the composer dedicated to the Philharmonic Society. There is fine writing in it, but little which makes an emotional appeal. It was given under the energetic ance was direction of M. Gustave Doret. MASTER MAURICE REEVE, a talented youth of fourteen, gave a pianoforte recital at Bechstein Hall on Wednesday afternoon. His reading of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata was of course immature, yet promising. In the Twelve Études of Chopin, Op. 10, there was some remarkable playing from a technical point of view; and in time he will no doubt be able also to reveal the poetic qualities of the music. A NEW ballet was included in the programme at Covent Garden last Tuesday evening. With its crowd of dancing girls, clowns, Indians, &c., the scene was bright and animated. The music is by Stravinsky, a Russian composer of decidedly modern tendency. This has been already shown in works of his given in the concert halls. He is a master of orchestration. Puccini's Manon Lescaut' was performed on Wednesday. Madame Agostinelli, who made 8 first appearance, impersonated Manon. She is a fair actress, and sings well, though the middle register of her voice sounded weak; but for this Signor Panizza was in part to blame, for the orchestral playing was frequently too strenuous. Signor Martinelli sang with marked fervour. Reginald D'Arcy's Pianoforte Recital, 3, Steinway Hall. Arnold Trowell's 'Cello Recital, 8. 15, Bechstein Hall. FRI. SAT, Grand Concert in aid of the Italian Hospital, s, Queen's Hall. Handel Festival, 'Messiah,' 2.30, Crystal Palace. DRAMA Plays by August Strindberg: The Dream Play; The Link; The Dance of Death, Parts I. and II. Translated, with an Introduction, by Edwin Björkman. (Duckworth & Co.) AUGUST STRINDBERG, dramatist, novelist, philosopher and egoist, realist and mystic, died only the other day; and England proceeded to take as much notice of him in death as in life, which was precisely nothing. Perhaps from her own point of view she was right, for in her attitude towards Art she has the habit of looking at the subject of the work rather than at the work itself as a living art-form, and superficially Strindberg is not encourag ing. There can rarely have been an artist with such a passion for self-expression; his work was his own tortured self; and the intensity of his continuous revelations reminds one of Van Gogh, who, at the end of his life, crossed the border of insanity which at one time Strindberg himself approached. He once said of his character that its predominant traits were doubt and sensitiveness to pressure, and Edwin Björkman, in the biographical Introduction to his admirable translation of three of the most important plays, speaks of " the theme of eternal repetition, of forced return to past experiences, which recurs constantly in his works." Having been unhappy, or at least unsuccessful, in marriage, this doubting and sensitive man was driven to relentless examination and the formulating of works which earned for him the title of "brutalist" and chief opponent of the Ibsen school of feminism. In this aspect The Father' (1887) is instructive. The struggle is between the man and the woman over the soul of the child, and such a struggle has been made possible by what is summed up in "the emancipation of woman.' Let woman remain a chattel, and you have what the father calls the days of healthy physical love; but a ship governed by two individuals is likely to come to grief. For instruction in the relations of the sexes most people will gladly turn from Strindberg-not necessarily to Ibsen, but to Meredith. The world may well ask why it should be required to honour a man who might be said to be more foolish Strindberg than it, because one-sided. in 'The Dream Play' called the world "all the right-minded," speaking of them as opponents of freedom and truth. Yet they may be more right-minded than Strindberg because, without taking thought, they act in accord with the dictates of that wisdom which lives in the heart of nature, of the promptings of which they are unconscious. They are conventional. But in some men this wisdom or truth tries to force its way to the surface and becomes conscious, and it is not surprising if it is partial and one-sided. We rightly value these mistaken men because they represent of Death' summits of consciousness. In the plays of Strindberg, as in the philosophy of Schopenhauer, we find this consciousness most intense and burning.. burning. However partial his view of life, however gloomy its expression, an encounter with him is a good experience because of his vitality. It seems that from art, which is the world of dreams, we should not ask that they be good dreams, but that they be really dreams. Moreover, it would be absurd to imagine that Strindberg was just a vivid misogynist. If you grant his original assumption, that, with women developed as they are, trouble is bound to come, an analysis of his plays will show that he is equally fair or unfair to both sexes. In 'Dance wonderful the (1901) the character of the captain no doubt contains much condemnation of Strindberg's own life. The man having the second part of the play presents him lived impossibly with his wife for years, (or his soul) as virtually a vampire, sucking the vitality of his friend. As he Forgive dies at the end, his words are, them, for they know not what they do". a magnificent impudence in which we see Strindberg's confession of his own egoism, and to some extent its apology. In The Dream Play the mother says to her husband, "We have been tormenting each other. Why? The answer is, That we may not know." In 'The Dance of Death' the friend says, “Both of you are to be pitied. But what can be done? 66 'The Link' (which is in admirable form to show the impossibility of cutting the knot by reason of the child) represents little but itself. It is well, in thinking of Strindberg and his almost countless works, to end one's study with The Dream Play (1902). For this man, "who has raised modern Swedish to its utmost potency of beauty," had been troubled not by woman only. In The Dream Play' he is definitely in affinity with Mr. Hardy and the Greek tragedians, who saw life mysteriously vexed by Fate, and brooded over the whole unanswerable question. Agnes, daughter of Indra, comes to earth because, like her author, she has a passion to know. She takes earthly form and endures the burden while she watches, as in panorama, the woes of all sections of mankind, in scenes some of which are splendidly imagined. At last, baffled, and all but stoned by the "right-minded" who once before had crucified the "Liberator," she sees that men will not understand her secret. She departs. The Poet. I understand. And the end? Daughter. You know it. Conflict between the pain of enjoyment and the pleasure of suffering. The Poet. A conflict it is then? Daughter. Conflict between opposites produces energy. The Poet. But peace? Rest? Daughter. You must ask no more. She departs to present man's grievance before the throne. The poem, with its wail of the winds like a Greek chorus, with its mystery of malice, of suffering, of life and being, is nevertheless a prayer for good; and, in the final words of the dead poet himself, "The prayers of the pious penetrate the universe." FOUR IRISH PLAYS. MR. ERVINE'S humane and pointed treatise-play "Mixed Marriage," played at the Court Theatre, by the Irish players on the 13th, is necessarily of a localized interest, since, with us in England, religious intolerance and vendetta are "old, unhappy, faroff things." To Belfast, especially some years ago, it would have an intense and penetrating appeal. To those for whom bigotry is remote and merely legitimate grist for the historian, the subject is subordinate to its treatment. They will concentrate their appreciation on the gentle, effortless satire, the touches of humanity, the shafts of wit, blunted by On the same evening Lady Gregory's whimsical comedy The Rising of the Moon' was given, with Mr. Sinclair as the sergeant of police, and Mr. Kerrigan as carried through with refreshing actuality, the escaped prisoner. The piece was Mr. Sinclair finding a congenial medium for his rich vein of comic suggestion. On Monday evening The Well of the Saints,' the second of Synge's plays produced by the company this season, was acted, with Mr. Sinclair and Miss Sara Allgood as the blind old man and his blind wife. Remembering the misinterpretation of 'The Playboy, we watched Well of the Saints' is an early venture of the acting with some trepidation. The kindliness, and, above all, on the delicate figure of Mrs. Rainey, the infinitely patient Synge's, and, except Riders to the mother and wife, who epitomizes the in-Sea,' the most perfect of all, the nearest feriority of men to women in their realiza- approach to symbolism he made. In it tion of the human and concrete issues of he demonstrated the world-old aphorism which the artist is never weary of expresslife. The story of Tom Rainey and the disaster he brings on his house, through ing-the reality of illusion and the disthe insuperable obstinacy of his religious Blake in realizing the artistic criterion illusion of reality. He joined issue with bitterness, is too familiar to need repeti- of the supremacy of the imagination. tion. The question of its dramatic adaptability is different: as drama it is not well The story of the two old people whose constructed. The didactic motive, directed sight is restored by one of the peripatetic against didacticism, is too prominent, and anchorites of Ireland, and whose subsethe dramatis personae are pigeon-holed quent disgust at the drabness of the into their several recesses to enforce it. world and the visual evidence of their They do not live for themselves, but for own ugliness is relieved by the merciful principles; which is good morality, but not, dispensation of a second blindness, has, principles; which is good morality, but not, indeed, the pristine spirituality and directas a rule, good drama. In Ibsen, for instance, the characters are thinkers, ness of an old English or French parable. puzzled inevitably about life because they The odorous mists of fancy again roll over Martin Doul and his wife, and they are human beings. In much of the pass southward thronged with visionary sincere renaissance of modern drama a forms of beauty bestowed upon them by propagandist idea is patterned into a play owing to a mistaken interpretation the "inward eye," and moving the pall of the Ibsenite tradition. Spontaneity of from their dark spirits. Such a dramatic action suffers from these restrictions in conte rather than a drama exercises the 'Mixed Marriage.' The first three acts same kind of appeal as 'Aucassin et Nicolette.' It is the revelation of unfold the argument; the fourth plunges into sheer, wilful melodrama. The salience of 'Mixed Marriage' lies in the mild radiance and sanity of its philothe mild radiance and sanity of its philosophy. The Abbey Theatre company appeared to feel its non-dramatic elements, but gave it what visualization their sensitive art could impart. Mr. Sinclair was obviously more the acolyte of the comic than the tragic muse, but he saved Tom Rainey by his humour from appearing more of a purblind dolt than he actually is. Mr. Wright and Mr. Kerrigan gave convincing renderings of the two sons, and Miss Eithne Magee a lovable picture of the betrothed of Hugh Rainey. The subtlety and finesse of Miss Sara Allgood, her faculty of pitching the emotional key with inevitable exactitude, were as delicate as in her previous performances. She is a great actress, because of her disdain of commonplace tricks and her fidelity to her art. She gave an even more vital and electrical meaning to Mrs. Rainey than the author has done. Mixed Marriage. By St. John G. Ervine, peculiar quest of the human spirit. This and execution, and quite unlike the un- Doul, and might have leavened it with advantage. On the same evening Lady Gregory's 'Spreading the News was acted with liant and forced in turn, and the whole captivating éclat. It is pure farce, bril company flung themselves into it with NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. [Notice in these columns does not preclude longer review.] Browning (Robert), WORKS, with Intro- has as frontispiece a portrait of Browning 2 Rich's Apolonius and Silla,' an ORIGINAL OF SHAKESPEARE'S TWELFTH NIGHT,' edited by Morton Luce, 2/6 net. Chatto & Windus A suggestive little book on Shakespeare's Quellen, though Mr. Luce is apt to be discursive and to overdo the pursuit of literary parallels. The same sentiment and phraseology may easily occur to two authors writing independently of each other, and 66 we have noted remarkable instances of this 66 Shakespeare, LovE's LABOUR LOST, edited by James F. Royster, 1/ net. Macmillan Tudor Edition. Another issue of this American edition, which is similar in scope and character to its numerous predecessors. Shakespeare, KING JOHN, edited by C. W. Crook. the student. The Introduction, Text and Notes, Glossary, Examination Questions, and Index to Notes supply all that can possibly be required. In addition the pages of text are interleaved. Mr. Crook decessors, and, we are glad to see, includes has made good use of the labours of his prederivations in his Glossary, mostly derived from Prof, Skeat. A capable edition, abounding in help for Bramatic Gossip. WITHOUT claiming any great merit for Mr. Charles Klein's Find the Woman,' produced at the Garrick last Monday, we nevertheless can congratulate Mr. Bourchier on being in a piece more worthy of his finished acting than Improper Peter.' As in other plays written with a purpose, the dramatist has concentrated his attention rather on delivering his message than producing something which will bear acute analysis. Like Brieux's 'La Robe Rouge and Dostoieffsky's 'Crime and Punishment,' adapted respectively in English as 'The Arm of the Law and The Unwritten Law,' the present production is intended to expose the system of mental torture which may be applied to a suspected person to force a confession. The illustration which the playwright offers is the case of a drunken lad found in the rooms of a man who has committed suicide, and subjected to such an ordeal, and is worked up to a telling climax. Indeed, Mr. Klein rarely fails to contrive effective scenes, and he can also handle cleverly combats of will. One of his most diverting passages is that in which the hero's plucky young wife besieges a lawyer with quiet persistence till he consents to take up the boy's defence. In these two parts Miss Vanbrugh and Mr. Bourchier once again make us so long as they hold the stage-forget the play's deficiencies. As far as ingenuity is concerned Mr. Klein has not much to learn in the way of stagecraft; he has an obvious talent for plot-making. But with the gift is not combined in this case the knack of being plausible. There is an element of unreality about his whole story which is the more annoying because a little thought would have removed it. Yet when considered solely as a piece of dramatic craftsmanship, the play affords in itself a striking example of the skilful intermingling of realism, humour, and pathos with the essential quality of culmination which tends to enlist both the sympathy and the attention of the audience throughout. The company and the staging of the piece are worthy of the occasion. IF it were not that in the title-part Ann' is bewitchingly played by Miss Renée Kelly, we should be hard put to it to find anything to praise in Mr. Lechmere Worrall's latest Criterion production. As it is, that actress deserves great commendation for avoiding vulgarity and imbecility. Falling into the Thames to obtain an introduction to a man, and cultivating further acquaintance by gaining entrance to his room late at night by means of a fire escape, certainly offer many opportunities for both. In the second act this lady routs her rival by surreptitiously leaving articles of her apparel -including shoes and stockings and a nightdress in the young man's sittingroom, and rounds off her triumph by being found there feigning sleep attired in the said nightdress. The object of her quest, played by Mr. Basil Hallam, is a novelist who has just been successful in getting a publisher to put his imprint to a novel, and is so anxious to induce (? bribe) other publishers to follow suit that he insists on giving such business precedence to seeing the girl he has proposed to, and been accepted by, over the telep one. Incidentally, we found ourselves wishing that the terms of authors and publishers' contracts could be made public, as this would save reviewers from perusing much fustian. The young man, having got engaged to please his mother, puts scent on his hair, adds a comb to his brush, and adopts pyjamas— which he proudly displays-instead of a nightshirt, at the suggestion of his other lady pursuer, though he is only scandalized by her when she is seen with her hair down and in night attire. The other characters consist of enough; and Mr. Dion Boucicault galvanized a somewhat conventional comic Frenchman into a semblance of reality. IT is difficult to believe that Mrs. Warren's Profession,' so ably performed last a dean Tuesday by the Pioneer Players, is one of (Mr. Holman Clark) who reads aloud the Mr. Shaw's early works. Its depth and review of his son's work with the intona- concentration of feeling, its ruthless courage tion he inflicts on his congregation; and sincerity, mark it as a play of far his wife (Miss Fay Davis), who apparently greater worth than many of his more recent does not much mind who marries her dramas. Mr. Shaw has seldom been more (Mr. Hylton Allen), whose greatest service of a good play to his incorrigible love of son as long as some one does; and a friend in earnest, less ready to sacrifice the value to all concerned consists in drawing every- fooling. He is more than usually courageous body's attention to the fact that he has in his unsparing attack on modern society found a lady's shoe in his friend's room. and the hypocrisy of social respectability. We can only hope that the captivating One may shrink a little at such scenes American actress may have an early opportunity of revealing her talents in something Vivie into marriage with the money heaped as that in which the flâneur seeks to tempt better than a mechanical jeu d'esprit of this up from profitable investments in Continental hotels of malodorous reputation, in the profits of which her mother, as the able manageress of such institutions, has a goodly share; yet no one can doubt the honesty of Mr. Shaw's purpose. His unsparing irony is directed more savagely against the hypocrisy and wilful blindness to such a blot on our social life than against the system itself. It is brought home to us again and again, and nowhere more poignantly than in Vivie's realization that her own moral integrity is built up on the corruption and disease of such a system. sort. It is not unlikely that Sir Arthur Pinero's farce The Amazons' will enjoy at the Duke of York's a longer run than it did at the Court, where it was produced in 1893. The enthusiasm with which it was received yesterday week was due in great measure to the popularity of the three young actresses who play the three girls brought up by a disappointed mother as boys. All goes well until the "boys grow up and fall in love, when their assumed masculinity vanishes. There is nothing real about the writing, the high spirits of the "Amazons," play, but the ingenuity and brilliance of the and, above all, the consummate acting of Mr. Weedon Grossmith as the flabby Lord Tweenwayes, capture the critic, malgré lui. It is questionable whether there is any one else on the stage to-day who can look supremely ridiculous with such an air of naturally played by Miss Ellis Jeffreys) The Marchioness (very gives a somewhat reluctant consent to her daughters' engagements, chiefly owing to the prospective bridegrooms resemble those her discovery that the muscles of one of her Jack." The three Amazons, Miss Phyllis Neilson-Terry, Miss Pauline Chase, and Miss Marie Löhr, acted with charm and competence. Mr. Godfrey Tearle was not appearance of reviews of books. entirely successful in subduing his American accent and manner, and seemed incongruous as an English lord, but his acting was well festive innocence. of A SELF PROPOSITION. Kingston gave a remarkably clever study The acting was uniformly good. Miss of the disreputable mother, with her shame. lessness, her lack of all fine feeling, and her ignorance, and, on the other hand, her pathetic honesty and shrewd knowledge of life as it is stripped of all pretence of decency. Miss O'Malley proved an able exponent of too self-possessed. But she made the best Vivie, though she occasionally seemed almost of her rare opportunities to show great feeling and depth. Mr. Maude was an attractive boyish lover. TO CORRESPONDENTS. J. B. H.-Received. -H. W.-R. W. C.-N. W. H. S. H.-Not suitable for us. No notice can be taken of anonymous communications. We cannot undertake to reply to inquiries concerning the We do not undertake to give the value of books, china, pictures, &c. [For Index to Advertisers see p. 718.] The most valuable and useful Life Policy is that which yields largest return for the Premiums paid. 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