Literary Gossip.

YESTERDAY WEEK, at the rooms of the Royal Literary Society in Hanover Square, Mr. Ralph Hodgson was awarded the Polignac Prize. The selection is very welcome. Mr. Hodgson is an original craftsman in poetry, from whom much is expected.

MRS. MEYNELL on the same occasion was welcomed as a member of the Academic Committee. Mr. Newbolt partly read and partly spoke a considered appreciation of both the prose and the poetry of the new member, which will no doubt be published in due course.

Meanwhile, an anecdote told in his best manner by Prof. Gilbert Murray, who presided, should not be allowed to pass as alms to oblivion. The time was years ago, and the occasion was an illness from which he was suffering. One day he found himself humming over and over to himself a favourite poem of Mrs. Meynell's; and then, seeing a furtive expression on his nurse's face, he repeated the verses very plainly, to show that he was not wandering. When the doctor came, the nurse said that, though the temperature was satisfactory, the patient had been muttering to himself all the morning, and then had addressed her in very strange words-no, not improper, but pure nonsense. The Professor, telling the tale, trusted that the poet would pardon it, and Mrs. Meynell bowed her delighted assent.

THE Society just referred to has arranged for next Wednesday a lecture on 'Poetry

had enlisted. Dr. Blaikie suggested that the Edinburgh Valuation Roll might be continued, which would assist the trade;

and two members of the Council commended the printing of further instalments of the municipal ancient muniments for the same purpose.

A USEFUL piece of work has been done by Mr. G. M. Fraser of Aberdeen Public Library, in the shape of a catalogue of the Local Collection of Books to be found in the reference department. It is intended to give readers an idea of the available literature concerning Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, and Kincardineshire.

THE French Yellow Book of diplomatic correspondence, &c., before the outbreak of the war, is now on sale in an authorized English translation, the English and American copyrights of which have been granted by the French Government to The Times solely. One would expect a paper which of late has been incessantly advertising its resources and the maxim "Good value for money' to justify this monopoly by a cheap issue of so important a document. The Times charges 2s. net for its translation. The British White Paper originally cost 9d., and can now be had for 1d.

د,

AN interesting lecture on the pre-Celtic population of Ireland was delivered last week before the National Literary Society of Ireland by the Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. Dr. Mahaffy claimed that the distinguishing characteristics of Irish art and music, usually described as "Celtic," are not really due to the Celts, but are a manifestation of the genius of an earlier population, the Firbolgs, whose

The same firm will issue immediately a book entitled The War and Demo

cracy,' by Dr. R. W. Seton - Watson, Mr. J. Dover Wilson, Mr. A. E. Zimmern, and Mr. Arthur Greenwood. The work originated in the experience of its writers at the Summer Schools for working-class students promoted by the Workers' Educational Association, and it is intended to act as a guide to the study of the underlying causes and issues of the war.

MRS. MARY S. GILBERT writes from Marden Ash, Ongar, Essex :—

"In The Athenæum of November 28th last, at the close of an article entitled France and Austria,' reference is made to G. C. Churchill's excellent work "The Permit me to state Dolomite Mountains.'

that the author of The Dolomite Mountains' was not G. C. Churchill, but my hus band, the late Josiah Gilbert, who also made the drawings for the illustrations. On these grounds Mr. Gilbert was made a member of the Alpine Club, which he remained until his death in 1892. He and Mr. Churchill were the first to make known the Dolomite

region now so popular. I wish also to say that Mr. Churchill supplied the botanical information; and chap. iii., entitled An

Excursion to Val Fassa in 1860,' is entirely by him. It seems to me due to the memory of those lifelong friends and fellow-travellers that this statement should be made."

MESSRS. W. & R. CHAMBERS write from Edinburgh :

"In your issue of November 14th we observe in reviewing, 'A Band of Mirth,' by L. T. Meade, you give the price as 38. 6d. net. This book is published at 3s. 6d., but not 38. 6d. net. We hope you will be good

enough to draw the attention of your readers to the correct price."

THE death took place last Sunday at

its Professor of Poetry.

THE members of the Athenæum Club have presented to Mr. H. R. Tedder, their Secretary and Librarian, his portrait, painted by Mr. G. Hall Neale. The presentation was made on Tuesday last by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the name of the subscribers, in commemoration of Mr. Tedder's forty years' tenure of the dual office. There was a large attendance of members, and a cheque accompanied the portrait.

THE IRISH LITERARY SOCIETY has arranged a lecture next Saturday by Miss Eleanor Hull on Irish Scholarship at Louvain.'

AT Oxford, we learn, no suitable candidate presented himself for the Craven Fellowship, while for the Derby Scholarship there was no candidate at all. This state of affairs reflects, we imagine, the exigencies of war, which has claimed all the energies of many a promising scholar.

DR. W. B. BLAIKIE AND MR. R. W. HANSON, representing the Master Printers' Association, were heard on Tuesday by the Edinburgh Town Council on a deputation as to the state of the printing trade owing to the war. Dr. Blaikie gave the number employed in the Edinburgh printing trade as 12,000 persons, who had suffered greatly. Some 50 per cent of those of military age

port of his contention, the Provost referred to Celtic ornament in Ireland, which was remarkable for an elaboration of detail not to be found in the ornaments of any other Celtic population in Europe.

MR HENRY F. DICKENS, is finding time in aid of the funds of the British Red to give recitals of his father's works Cross Society.

THE Leipsic Book Exhibition appears to be going on as usual, for during September there were often more than 20,000 visitors daily. The English, French, and Russian sections are, however, closed. We referred to this in our issue of September 5.

CANON EDMUND MCCLURE is leaving at Christmas his post as Editorial Secretary of the S.P.C.K. His long experience and wide knowledge will be much missed.

fessor of Forestry at the West of Scotland Agricultural College, Glasgow, and Forestry Adviser to the Board of Agriculture since educated at Edinburgh University and at 1912. Born in Edinburgh in 1853, he was Munich, and entered the Indian Forest Forests in Burma from 1895, and retired in Service in 1875; was a Conservator of 1900. He wrote a work, Burma under British Rule,' and many books on his own subject, upon which he was a recognized authority, including The Forester: a Treatise on British Forestry and Arboriculture,' Our Forests and Woodlands,' and The Elements of British Forestry.'

WE learn from America of the death, on November 16th, of Prof. Ewald Flügel, a scholar of international reputation. He was born in Leipsic in 1863, and, though he had lived for the most part in the United States, retained a deep interest in Germany. His death is attributed to excitement and grief over the war.

SCIENCE

Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles. By W. J. Bean. 2 vols. (John Murray, 21. 28. net.) INFORMATION relating to trees and shrubs has a value far exceeding that belonging to the literature of mere floriculture. Judged by the span of a human life, trees appear almost as everlasting as the hills. Individual specimens even are often longer lived than the castles and mansions that nestle amidst their shade. This sense of the abiding character of trees is felt generally, and it has sometimes tended to discourage planting, even where large forests have been sacrificed for industrial purposes. It needed the pen of Evelyn to awaken the modern world to a true sense of the importance of arboriculture, and it is to the entreaties in the delightful Sylva' that we owe the increased planting carried out in the early years of last century. The indefatigable Loudon followed with his great work in 1839. Loudon's powers of observation were extraordinary, and his descriptions and illustrations of the trees of his day were an excellent guide for many years. But since his time immense numbers of new species have been introduced from various countries, including Chile, Japan, and China. Mr. Bean's work is therefore sure of a welcome because it brings together brief descriptions of all the species and more important varieties of hardy woody plants established in the British Isles, with notes on their characters, garden value, and culture. He overcomes the difficulty attached to the word "hardy" by explaining that he takes Kew as an average locality, and includes such plants as have proved hardy there. He excludes many less hardy and beautiful species that are known to succeed in the south-western counties and other places which possess unusual climatic conditions.

The first chapter consists of historical notes, in which brief references are made to the principal collectors of exotic trees, from John Tradescant, who travelled in America in the middle of the seventeenth century, to Mr. Ernest H. Wilson and Mr. George Forrest, whose numerous introductions from China during the past fourteen years are still only on their trial in this country. The author, being a practical man, passes from this phase of the subject to matters concerned with cultivation: he describes in detail the methods of propagation, by seeds, division, layers, cuttings, grafting, and budding. Hybridizing and selection of seedlings, the management of

the

nursery, transplanting, soils and mulching, and the arrangement of shrubberies, are all treated in separate chapters. On the important subject of pruning excellent advice is given; methods are suggested that favour the natural development of the tree rather than a symmetrical or artificial growth. The care of trees is a labour of love to many who possess ancients that have braved the centuries, and come to be regarded as heirlooms.

Such specimens may have their lives sensibly prolonged if heed be given to the directions upon mulching the roots, and making good holes that have occurred in the trunks owing to the breaking away of limbs or other causes. The chapter on old trees is followed by several others designed specially to save the planter trouble in selection, lists being given of evergreen trees, climbing shrubs, pendulous trees, fastigiate and dwarf trees, shrubs that produce handsome fruits, others that possess attractively coloured barks, or develope rich colour in their autumn leaves. There are selections of early and late flowering species, and for specially suitable trees

trees

and

street

SOCIETIES.

-

Sir

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. Nov. 26. Arthur Evans, President, in the chair. Mr. Hilary Jenkinson read a paper on Mary de Sancto Paulo, Countess of Pembroke, and founder of Pembroke College, Cambridge. The Countess of Pembroke, the subject of the paper, was the daughter of Guy de Châtillon, Count of St. Pol (in Picardy), and Marie of Brittany, being connected thus with the royal houses of both England and France, and with all the most distinguished families of the latter country. Born probably about 1304, she was married in 1321 to Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, himself of very ancient French descent, connected also by birth with the royal blood of both countries, and one of the foremost figures of his day in wealth and political influence in England. The Earl died suddenly in 1324, and the Countess remained a widow for fifty-three years. During most of this period she lived in England, where she held extensive estates in dower. She founded an abbey (Denney) and a College (Pembroke events in her life are numerous in the records of the time. The Countess lived through one of the most formative and critical periods in the history of two countries, to both of which she was equally, though differently, bound-her position, by stances, being such that her interests and feelings might well be strongly involved on one or the other side. It was the object of the paper to try to discover all possible evidences of an inti mate or personal character with regard to her.

planting, forming hedges of various types, College, Cambridge): and references to small or planting in shady positions and near

the seaside.

reason both of her birth and of other circum

Sir William St. John Hope exhibited a recently discovered Palatinate seal of John, Earl of

Warrenne, Surrey, and Stratherne (1305-47), the

only example known of his seal in his capacity of Earl Palatine of Stratherne, a dignity granted to him by Edward Balliol. The seal is large, and the obverse represents the Earl sitting on his chair armour on horseback.

Such are the general directions that make up the first portion of the work. The second and main portion is devoted to the genera, species, and varieties, beginning with the genus Abelia, and continuing in alphabetical order. The author, having charge of the best collection of trees and shrubs in the British Isles, approaches the task with all the advantages gained by a close observation of the behaviour of the newer introductions at Kew. We could wish that the descriptive notes were fuller, of estate, while on the reverse he is represented in that references were given to the first published description of each species, and more information concerning the value as timber of the forest trees. But Mr. Bean's view is primarily that of the culturist for ornamental purposes, and though he supplies in a large number of cases references to figures in The Botanical Magazine and Gardeners' Chronicle, he has not been overconsiderate to the botanical student.

The difficult question of nomenclature is treated in a manner that will meet with general approval, the Kew system being in the main adopted. The printing as a whole is excellent, but the terminal i in specific names after individuals is treated first in one way and then in another. In some cases this unfortunate letter is duplicated, and in others it is not, although it follows the same consonant; and occasionally, as in Lonicera Maackii on p. 47, the name appears both with one i and with two. Then we have Picea Sargentii and Viburnum Sargenti. These cases of inconsistency would be prevented by adopting the recommendations of the Vienna conference on the subject, and making them apply to all species named before or since.

Upwards of sixty half-tone plates illustrate first-class specimens of some of the species, and their general excellence calls for high praise. The illustrations in the text, prepared from drawings by Miss E. Goldring, will be welcomed, although many of them appear somewhat lifeless and devoid of botanical detail.

There is a good Index, and this, combined with the alphabetical arrangement, makes the volumes convenient for reference. The text is not burdened by unnecessary details; and the style of the book, whilst it does not exhibit any literary pretensions, is simple and restrained,

ZOOLOGICAL.-Nov. 24.-Prof. E. A. Minchin, V.P., in the chair.-Dr. R. Broom exhibited the skull of a new type of thecodont reptile from the Upper Permian Beds of South Africa, and a number of skulls illustrating dental variations.Mr. D. Seth-Smith exhibited an egg of the New Guinea rifle - bird (Ptilorhis intercedens) which had been laid in the Society's Gardens in July last, the first instance of any species of paradise-bird laying in the Gardens.-Mr. E. T. Newton exhibited a series of bones of animals showing indications of natural repair, and a number of teeth of a female sperm - whale (Physeter macrocephalus).

Dr. C. W. Andrews gave an account of three papers by Mr. D. M. S. Watson. The first contained the description of a new reptile from the Permian of the Cape Province, S. Africa. In the second the origin of the Chelonia was discussed. In the third paper Mr. Watson described the skulls of Bauria, Microgomphodon, and Sesamodon.

Mr. F. A. Potts communicated a paper entitled 'Polychæta from the N.E. Pacific: the Chatopteridæ.'

Messrs. E. Heron-Allen and A. Earland exhibited a series of microscopic preparations and photographic views of the tests of Arenaceous Foraminifera, and urged their view that these afforded evidence of purpose and intelligence on the part of the Foraminifera.

Society of Arts, 8.-The History and Practice of the Art of
Printing,' Lecture JII, Mr. R. A. Peddie. (Cantor Lecture.)
Geographical, 8.30.-Types of Political Frontiers in Europe,"
Prof. L. W. Lyde.

TUES. Victoria and Albert Museum, 3.- Land Forms and Landscapes, Lecture XII., Dr. J. D. Falconer.

WED.

Asiatic, 4.- Ma Définition du Grand Véhicule,' Prof. L. de la
Vallée Poussin.

London School of Economics, 8.-The State Regulation of
Wages, Lecture VIII., Mr. Tawney.

Central Asian, 4.30.- Tamerlane,' Lieut.-Col. P. M. Sykes.
Society of Arts, 8.-Domestic Metal-Work of the Eighteenth
Century,' Mr. W. A. Young.
THURS. Royal, 4.30.-The Electrical Conductivity of Echinoderm
ggs, and its Rearing on the Problems of Fertilization and
Artificial Parthenogenesis, Mr. J. Gray; The Endemic
Flora of Ceylon with reference to Geographical Distribution
and Evolution in General.' Dr. J. C. Willis.
Institution of Electrical Engineers, 8.-'Automatic Protective
Switchgear for Alternating-Current Systems,' Mr. E. B.
Wedmore.

FRI.

University College, 3.-'Greek Art: Roman Arches and
Columns, Prof. E. A. Gardner.
Astronomical, 5.

Alchemical, 8 15.-Symposium.

London School of Fconomics, 8.15.-Government and Military Sanitation in the Tropics,' Lecture II., Sir Ronald Ross. (Chadwick Public Lectures.)

FINE ARTS

THE NEW ENGLISH ART CLUB.

AT the New English Art Club we are once more reminded of the war: first, by Mr. Sickert's large painting The Soldiers of King Albert the Ready (151), and, secondly, by the abstinence of many of the usual exhibitors, owing to their engagement in other arts than those of peace. This will be increasingly felt in London exhibitions, which will pass virtually into the hands of such artists as would be described in athletic terms as "old crocks"; it is the hour of revenge upon critics and patrons who have had frequently a mania for discovering prodigious infancy. Since, however, the middle-aged probably would not wish to push home this advantage to excess, and artistic reputation is to some extent built up by the persistent iteration of an artist's name, we would suggest the desirability of printing in catalogues the names of recent exhibitors absent with the colours, so that their places may be kept warm for them against their return. In the present instance we recall the work in previous exhibitions of Messrs. Ian Strang, Gerard Chowne, W. B. Savage, and Maresco Pearce, who are either unrepresented or not so adequately represented as they would be but for the war; and there are doubtless others.

Mr. Sickert's picture is the only painting provoked by the present war we have yet seen which has artistic value, almost all its constituent colours patterning in lively and legible fashion, and the level lines of the three rifles being admirably utilized to give dramatic unity of intention to the group. Perhaps it is as a tribute to the " anonymous character of the war that the faces of all three combatants are obscured, and the identity revealed only of the fallen. The picture makes a much better decoration than most of the costumed we have to submit to on the rare occasions compilations when the walls of our public buildings are painted, and, as it is to be sold for the benefit of the Belgian Fund, there seems an opportunity for some public body to do a public service and secure an historical memento at the same time.

Such work as Mr. Sickert's, which should really be wall-painting for a large building, compares in interesting fashion with the other outstanding feature of the exhibition, Mr. Orpen's Western Wedding (141), in which the almost greater difficulty of painting a large picture for a small room is faced. From a superficial point of view the difficulty is triumphantly met, and we cannot refuse our admiration for Mr. Orpen's gifts as an executant. Notably in the crucified figure which is the centre-or, rather, one of the many centres-of the composition, but again and again elsewhere, he displays the power of wringing complete and expressive draughtsmanship from the very limited number of tones which is all the exigencies of a general scheme permit to an artist of severe probity. Mr. Orpen need hardly, in fact, claim that virtue, because his power of economy does not really subserve any such exacting scheme; his picture is a compilation carried through by very much the same means as Frith's Derby Day —that is to say, if by imperfect planning of tones any object fails to relieve from its background, another object is moved up behind it of a tone and colour suitable for evading the difficulty.

Unity of surface is Mr. Orpen's virtue, unity of structure that of Mr. Sickert.

The main essentials of the group are the very bones of the colour-scheme with the older painter, though we may admit that in details he is in this gigantic sketch occasionally untidy. We feel that the tone that has been squeezed out for the sake of simplicity would sometimes have told us something of interest. A. Orpen, on the other hand, pulls off too many minor triumphs. Compare, for example, his rather severe analysis of the planes of the central figure with the elaborate contouring of the fiddler, or the over-accented character of the contemptuous critic who surveys the artist's tableau vivant from the left-hand corner disdainful, apparently, of the highpower motor-car which has brought, perhaps, the bishop to this rural scene, or even the painter himself. Certainly the interest of the latter in the scene is sadly theatrical. We believe in none of his figurants as we believe in the riflemen of Mr. Sickert, in whose hands a crucifixion would at least have some elements of human tra

in

gedy. We can imagine, indeed, Mr. Orpen's persistent flippancy giving serious offence some quarters, but shrewdly suspect those of his confrères who would deny him any merit of envying him his virtuosity on the sly.

These two pictures are so much the principal ones, and the others of a type so familiar to the amateurs who frequent the exhibitions of the N.E.A.C., that a brief further notice may suffice. Mr. Orpen's other two works (139 and 143) are ill-knit in detail compared with his large canvas, and not superior in fundamental design. Mr. Summer's L'Éducation Sentimentale (131), which occupies the place of honour at the end of the gallery, shows the difficulty of putting through a figure subject on a large scale, even to an artist confidently sufficient for a smaller affair like his handsome Dorset Landscape (217). Mr. Derwent Lees has sometimes shown a similar mastery in the latter field, and is a capable draughts(86) the range of space and the comparison man from life; but in his Portrait of a Girl of widely different forms involved in setting a figure in a landscape raise difficulties which have not quite been met. Miss Marjorie Brend (74) and Miss H. R. Middleton show good studies in the manner of Mr. Sickert; Mr. A. Rothenstein, a graceful chinoiserie, Design for a Circular Scene for Madame Pavlova (176); Mr. McEvoy, a very happy sketch in water-colour of evanescent delicacy (173); and Mr. Schwabe, a virile design of revellers in a swing at Hampstead (24), only marred by a row of low-comedy heads at the bottom of the composition.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS.

THREE exhibitions opened last week in aid of some fund connected with the war, the most important being the show at Messrs. Colnaghi & Obach's, the proceeds of which are to go to the Queen's Work for Women Fund and the Australian Contingent Association.

The catalogue opens with examples of seventeen Old Masters, many of which bear very great names; but probably the modest Frozen River Scene and Icefair (2), by Solomon Ruysdael, will give the most lasting artistic satisfaction by its delicate workmanship and the way in which the whole scene appears naturally to arise from the artist's pleasure in a familiar and matured technique. Romney's Coy Child (6) is an able, spontaneous sketch. It is by his power of flinging on the canvas such a

necessarily fleeting pose as this that the painter marks himself as so much more the born draughtsman than his contemporaries. Note the admirably suggested hand, and the freedom with which, despite a fair measure of particularity in the way of likeness, the whole scheme of form flows from a geometric sense of volumes, not from the imitation of contours. The picture may be a little obvious, but it is sound and structural. If we pass from it to the Rembrandt Portrait of a Young Man (10)— not surely so very young-we cannot but feel that the fuller representation of human character has been purchased at the expense of artistic unity. If this were to turn up as a modern picture instead of boasting a pedigree of two hundred years, we doubt if any one would fail to stigmatize it as a debased piece of design, though, to some eyes at least, marvellous in imitation. We are not, however, accustomed lightly to challenge an accredited Rembrandt. Certainly this one has many of the qualities of that master, while its faults, if rarely to be found quite at this pitch, are common enough in his work. But we should be more easily persuaded of its genuineness than of its excel

lence. The attribution of Le Jeune Dessinateur (4) to such a master of pigment as Chardin puts a greater strain on our credulity.

The Card Party (17) is a picture of considerable merit and interest. The figures have not the stylistic consistency we often find in the work of Pietro Longhi-and, it may be, the ascription to him is in some degree provisional-but there are passages of capable painting in some of the heads, and the setting of the group in the interior terious colour which balance so well the is admirable. These great washes of mys

claims of atmospheric distance and architectural

solidity remind us how nearly the sophisticated eighteenth-century Italian School came to establishing a style of painting idiomatic, self-contained, and, in a full and various suggestion of it. If the sense, superior to any other, since it depends less on resemblance to nature, yet offers a two well-known examples by Gabriel Metsu (9 and 11) had but a little of this sense of the finer grammar of the painter's technique, they might really bear the comparisons with Vermeer which they are sure to provoke. Turner's Venice, Campo Santo (5), shows great cleverness in juggling with but when a stretch of water is paint; treated with so strange a lack of perspective its surface in the placing of objects on The serenity of jugglery does not avail. the picture is fretted, and the impression is unsatisfactory.

A collection of Fans constitutes the second feature of the exhibition. Twentyeight Empire and eighteenth-century examples, lent by Mrs. Frank Gibson, confirm our impression that, elegant as they generally were in their mounting (see, for example, Nos. 17 and 22), they were rarely, in fact, painted by men of much decorative gift. In this respect we idealize them, and Conder was well advised in taking up a branch of art which had suggested possibilities rather than realized them. The way was open for him to imitate, yet improve on, the originals, and this he undoubtedly did. (Nos. 2 and 3 in the adjoining collection of his works are typical examples.) Mrs. Mary Davis is also represented by several fans, of which has a good colour-scheme, but the panels in The Russian Dancers (26) is the best. It which the figures are placed are set so closely together as slightly to cramp our sense of the latter's movements. An elegant watercolour by Whistler, Nellie Finch (29), deserves special mention.

Fine Art Gossip.

AT the Leicester Galleries the illustrations to Princess Mary's Gift-Book are very varied in quality, Mr. Arthur Rackham's two contributions being, perhaps, the best.

Ar the McLean Gallery the Belgian Mission of Art are showing some works by Belgian artists which, we are told, have been smuggled through the German lines, to be sold in this country for the benefit of artists in Belgium. The principal exhibitors are M. Henri Thomas, whose etching The Lady with the Muff (78) shows some power; M. Maurice Languskens, The Sonata (36); and M. Joseph Taelmans, whose Brabant Village (76) is a landscape of distinct charm. The designs of scenes in Old Belgium, by M. Amédée Lynen (53-6), are lively and interesting.

WE noticed in The Athenæum of November 7th the death of the distinguished archæologist M. Déchelette. His heroic end is thus mentioned in the official dispatches :

:

"Extrait de la Mise à l'ordre de l'Armée' française.-Déchelette, capitaine de territoriale au 298 régiment d'infanterie, a été tué le 6 octobre, alors qu'il entraînait sa compagnie sous un feu violent d'artillerie et d'infanterie, et lui avait fait gagner trois cents mètres de terrain; avant de mourir, a demandé au lieutenant-colonel commandant le régiment si on avait gardé le terrain conquis, et, sur sa réponse affirmative, lui a exprimé sa satisfaction en ajoutant qu'il était heureux que sa mort servît à la France.'

Two other French scholars have lost their lives in the war: M. OllivierHenry, who was President of the Société Académique de Brest; and the Vicomte Alfred de la Barre de Nanteuil, who, after being severely wounded near Dixmude, died in hospital at Dunkirk. The Vicomte was a very competent archæologist who had written ably on Breton castles. Both took an active part in the Congrès archéologique

de France at Brest in June last.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND has acquired by purchase an important example of the work of Gilbert Stuart, the American portrait painter who worked in Ireland between the years 1788 and 1793, and painted many Irish celebrities. The work now in Dublin, an oval portrait of a lady, supposed to be a Mrs. Webb of Donegal, is a particularly fine example of his art, both as regards the flesh painting and its colour

scheme.

Another recent addition to the collection, a view of a Dutch town by Johann H. Prinz, a Dutch painter of the latter half of the eighteenth century, has been presented by Miss Sarah Purser.

THE Fortieth Exhibition of the Dublin Sketching Club opened last week in Dublin. Amongst the exhibitors are Dr. G. W. Yeates (who shows some good studies of fishing-boats), Mr. John Glover, Mr. Henry Moss, Miss Kathleen Fox, Mr. Alfred Grey, and Mr. J. Crampton Walker.

MR. GEORGE ATKINSON has been appointed to a professorship in the Dublin Metropolitan

School of Art. He has attained distinction as etcher and water-colour painter.

A BOOK of proofs of prints made by Sir John Gilbert to illustrate Ivanhoe' in The London Journal has been presented to the Edinburgh Public Library. The book is believed to be one of the only two existing sets. The artist was evidently proud of these illustrations, for they were the first which bore the words "Drawn by John Gilbert.' This detail we derive from Notes and Queries, where recently Mr. Ralph Thomas has been publishing an elaborate account of Gilbert's many illustrations in The

London Journal.

MUSIC

NEW PUBLICATIONS. MESSRS. AUGENER (& CO. Campagnoli for Violin. By H. Wessely. 28. net. This work is by an artist who enjoys a good reputation as a performer. A glance at these excellent 30 Preludes, in all keys, or, better still, playing them over, will show how useful they are. As music they are bright and extremely varied. They in the first position, and to give ample were written chiefly to perfect the intonation

freedom to the bow-arm.

Dragon Flies (Libellules). For Violin and 28. net. The Piano. By Nandor Zsolt. opening shakes con sordino, the charming snatches of melody which interrupt the chains of shakes, the very soft paniment with common chords from which the thirds are absent, and constant consecutives, give an appropriately fantastic colour to the music.

accom

Doumka (Scène Rustique Russe). Op. 59. By Tschaikowsky. Revised, phrased, and fingered by O. Thümer. 1s. 6d. net.-The expressive theme in the Andantino with which this piece opens and ends, and other melodies, are probably drawn from Russian folk-song. Anyhow, they are engaging, and effective use is made of them. The music is not easy, but it contains no insuperable difficulties, and Mr. Thümer has given good help in fingering, phrasing, &c. National Anthems arranged for Young 18. net. These Pianists. By A. Roloff. appear at an opportune moment, for, as they are constantly being played by military and have them in this form. The anthems of other bands, young pianists will be glad to England, France, Russia, Belgium, Serbia, and Japan are given.

Thümer's Sonatina School for the Pianoforte. Books I., II., and III. 1s. 6d. net each. The first and second Books are marked Preparatory Grade, while the third is entitled Preliminary Grade. They will be followed Sonatinas are given by Clementi, Dussek, by others ending with a Higher Grade. and Kuhlau; by composers who have written A. Diabelli, and others; also one by Mr. A. specially for the young, Reinecke, Gurlitt, von Ahn Carse. All numbers of this useful School have been carefully selected, also phrased and fingered by the experienced

editor.

Musical Gossip.

SIR EDWARD ELGAR'S First Symphony in A flat was revived at the Queen's Hall Symphony Concert last Saturday afternoon. It is a highly emotional work, and shows his individuality throughout. Its length did not affect us when it was first produced, but now we cannot help feeling that a few judicious cuts would strengthen the music. Sir Henry Wood secured a vivid rendering. The concert opened with Bach's delightful Second Brandenburg' Concerto, Messrs. Fransella, Sons, Gyp, and Goossens playing the soli parts. Mlle. Lena Kontorowitsch gave a characteristic reading of Brahms's Violin Concerto.

Eolian Hall last Tuesday in aid of the AN interesting concert was given at the

Belgian Relief Fund and British Red Cross The Society. programme opened with M. Glazounoff's String Quartet in D minor, In these days a return to classical Op. 70. form and tonality is regarded by many musicians as a mistake; but if a composer's taste lies in that direction, and if he can write something fresh and individual, the result is satisfactory. The Russian composer's music possesses both those qualities. The clear, piquant Scherzo is a gem, while the slow movement is beautiful and restrained as regards emotion. An admirable performance was given of the work by the London String Quartet (Messrs. Albert E. Sammons, Thomas W. Petre, H. Waldo Warner, and C. Warwick Evans). Miss Agnes Nicholls sang with clear voice two Berlioz mélodies and Schumann's "The Two Grenadiers'; the latter is, however, only suitable for a man's voice.

M. Arthur de Greef, the well-known His reading of the music was good, though Belgian pianist, played some Chopin solos. at times somewhat overcharged with senti

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THE Quartet selected for the opening of the eighth Classical Concert at Bechstein Hall on Wednesday was by Haydn, but it was not one of his best--indeed, for him it was rather dull. The final movement, a fugue, made it clear, however, that the composer had studied his Fux Gradus' to advantage. Although correct, it was not inspiring, and the English String Quartet showed this in their playing. The peradvantage in Beethoven's great Quartet in formers were afterwards heard to far better B flat (Op. 130).

Miss Myra Hess played Schumann's Sonata in G minor (Op. 22). Tone and technique were good, and the reading sympathetic. Her conception of the music in the other movements was not quite so sat ́sfactory.

AT the concert of the London Symphony Orchestra next Monday at Queen's Hall Madame Tita Brand Cammaerts will, with accompaniment of a carillon, recite a poem by M. Émile Cammaerts, Chantons, Belges, Chantons,' composed by Sir Edward Elgar, who will conduct. M. Henri Verbrugghen, a Beethoven specialist, will conduct that composer's Symphony in a.

THE last of the Queen's Hall Symphony Concerts before Christmas will take place of Tschaikowsky next Saturday. At one time the 'Pathetic played, but it will be heard next week for constantly being the first time at the Symphony Concerts since March, 1911.

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THE LONDON CHORAL SOCIETY'S forthcoming concert will take place at Queen's Hall next Wednesday evening at 7.30, instead of 8 o'clock. The occasion is