No notice can be taken of
anonymous
communications.
Athenaeum - London - 1912a
Royal Opera, Covent Garden
Mon SAT. London Opera House, Kingsway.
Mon. Frederick Stock's Violin Recital, 8 16, Steinway Hall
Dr. Rumschiysky's Planotorte Recital. 8 80, Bechstein Hall.
TUES. René Bohet's Orchestral Concert, 3. 15, Æolian Hall.
Johanna Ferida's Vocal Recital, 3. 16, Bechstein Ball
Kathleen Bruckshaw's Pianoforte Recital, 8. 15, Æolian Hall
Johan Wysman's Pianoforte Kecital 8. 15, Bechstein Hall.
WED. Raoul Pugno's Pianoforte Recital, 3, Queen's Hall.
Arthur Rubinstein's Pianoforte Recital, 3, Bechstein fall.
Roland Jackson's Vocal Recital, 8. 15, Æolian Ball
Marie Leschetizky's (hamber Concert, 8. 15, Bechstein Hall.
Baltour Gardiner'i Concert 8. 80 Queen's Hall.
## p. 480 (#366) ############################################
480
No. 4409, APRIL 27, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
HOME UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY OF MODERN
KNOWLEDGE.
LEATHER.
11
"! such as
New York, Macmillan Co. Mr. BRAM STOKER, who died on Saturday
belief in Mr. Hoffe’s rather ugly little fairy-
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
tale. Fortunately there is one droll cha-
INotice in these columns doos not preclude longer racter in the play, which Mr. Frederick Kerr
review. )
impersonates, a politician on the look-out
Hardy (Harold), THE TRAGEDY OF AMY
for impropriety, whose every speech, thanks
ŘORSART, in Five Acts, 2/6 net. Banks largely to the actor's dry manner, is pro-
Mr. Hardy has dramatized the story of vocative of laughter. Other attempts at
Amy Robsart with some care and dignity humour are dragged in with no more artistry
of utterance, and without lapses of taste. than is customary on the variety stage--this
Editors:
NET.
His blank verse, though resonant, melli- does not mean that we failed to admire Mr.
Herbert Fisher, M. A.
fluous, and full of agreeable word-pictures, James Carew's cameo of a Yankee character. 256
F. B. A.
256
is too sedate and monotonous to kindle any
Prof. Gilbert Murray,
D. Litt. LL. D. F. B. A.
but slight fires in the reader. Nor is the THE French players, who inaugurated their
PAGES,
PAGES
Prof. J. Arthur
characterization more than shadowy. But season at the Little Theatre on Wednesday
Thomson, M. A.
OLOTE.
2/6 NET.
the play is sincere and praiseworthy, and night, if they stimulated us with their
Prof. Wm. T. Browstor.
reminiscent of the more quietistic Eliza- acting, did not captivate us by their choice
bethan manner. It is engaging rather than of play. ‘La Casaque’ was Molière bowd- THE FIFTH TEN VOLUNRS NOW RBADY.
powerful.
lerized, wrenched into a shape congenial 11. CONSERVATISM. LORD HUGH Cecil, M. A. M. P.
for histrionic tours de force. Of M. Tra-
26. AGRICULTURE. Prof. W. SOMERVILLE, F. L. S.
Kerr (Mina), INFLUENCE OF BEN JONSON ON
rieux's 'Un Soir,' the less said the better.
43. ENGLISH LITERATURE, MEDIÆVAL.
ENGLISH COMEDY, 1598–1642.
Prof. W. P. KER, M. A.
Its theme is the calculation of a woman,
University of Pennsylvania who, thanks to the generosity of her husband,
44. THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSIOLOGY.
Prof. J. G. MCKENDRICK, M. D.
A monograph of insatiable industry, but decides to forego elopement with the fiancé
45. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
'hardly one that is likely to stimulate interest of her stepdaughter and to abide by the
J. PEARSALL SMITH, M. A.
in the subject. The author is too much ad marital respectabilities. The characters do
46. MATTER AND ENERGY.
F. SODDY, M. A F. R. S.
dicted to pigeon-holing the subject matter, not step out from their automatic sheaths, 47. BUDDHISM.
MRS. RHYS DAVIDS.
crowding the thesis with superabundant and the play is grotesque in its unreality and
48. THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR With Maps.
allusion, and discovering points of identity lame conjuring of a situation.
Prof. F. L. PAXSON.
between Ben Jonson, and his dramatic con-
49. PSYCHOLOGY. The study of Behaviour:
temporaries and descendants, the existence of
What interested us was the capability of
Prof. W. MCDOUGALL, M. B.
the actors. What they cando in circumstances
50. NONCONFORMITY.
which most students of English literature are
Its Origin and
Progress.
Principal W. B. SELBIE, M. A.
aware of. Jonson's influence is discussed that require depth, insight, and tragic
chiefly in relation to his “ sons,"
realization cannot yet be gauged. But they SECOND PRIZE COMPETITION.
Nathaniel Field, Richard Brome, Randolph, navigate the shoals and shallow waters of
First Prize, £25.
Second Prize, £5.
Cartwright, and others.
characterization with consummate ease and
And Ten Consolation Prizes of Books for the Best Short
flexibility. The air of the salon clings Essays on any one or all of the above volumes.
Shakespeare, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF about them, but they are so jaunty and
Write for a complete Descriptive Pamphlet containing
KING JOHN, edited by Henry M. sprightly that they allure by their sheer particulars of the volumes published, and of a large
Belden, 1/ net.
charm.
number in active preparation.
The Introduction seems to us better than last at the age of 65, was a versatile author
CAPTAIN CARTWRIGHT AND
the Notes, which are too concise. Part of
HIS LABRADOR JOURNAL.
and journalist. His weird and flamboyant
the Tudor Edition.
Edited by CHARLES WENDELL TOWNSEND, M. B.
stories, of which · Dracula is the best
With an Introduction by Dr. WILFRED T. GRENFELL.
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, arranged for
known, had a considerable vogue; but he
Illustrations from Old Engravings, Photographs, and
Performance by the Cambridge Reper- friend and assistant of Irving, of whom he
will be remembered mainly as the devoted
a Map.
1 vol. crown 8vo, 58, net.
tory Company by Orlando Barnett,
1/ net.
Cambridge, Heffer published · Personal Reminiscences in 1906 STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS.
The Introduction begins with a record of and 1907. He became Irving's manager in
An Investigation with the Balance.
the work accomplished since February, 1911, 1878, and served him with unceasing fervour
By H. P. GUPPY, M. B. F. R. S. E.
by the Cambridge Repertory Company,
and affection in days alike of stress and
Demy 8vo, cloth, 158. not.
(Ready May 1.
which has produced several interesting plays.
The simplification of Shakespeare appears
PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNA.
to us to be rather drastic.
TIONAL CONFERENCE.
TO CORRESPONDENTS. --D. H. F. -T. H. D. -H. M. -
C. C. S. -Received.
Under the Auspices of the American Society for Judicia
J. C. H. -Later.
Settlement of International Disputes.
No notice can be taken of anonymous communications.
Held at Washington, December, 1910.
In 1 vol. sewed, 4g. net.
Dramatic Gossip.
We cannot undertake to reply to inquiries concerning the
appearance of reviews of books.
We do not undertake to give the value of books, china
THE HIBBERT JOURNAL.
It is easy to detect in the new Garrick play pictures, &c.
Principal Contents of APRIL Number. NOW READY.
the author and even the formula of The
THE RIGHT TO STRIKE AND LOCK-OUT. By Robert
Little Damozel, but in ‘Improper Peter
A. Duff, D. Phil.
Mr. Monckton Hoffe has not mixed his
THE JESUS OF “Q"-the Oldest Source in the Gospels.
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
By George Holley Gilbert.
ingredients so adroitly, as before. Perhaps
THE GREAT QUESTION. By William Dillon, Chicago.
his choice of setting has something to do
BRAHMA. An Account of the Central Doctrine of Hindu
Theology as understood in the East and misunderstood
with his smaller degree of success. Fantastic
in the West. By Prof. S. A. Desai, Holkar College,
situations and types seem more appropriate
AUTHORS' AGENTS
Indore, Central India. .
BAGSTER & SONS
THE ESSENTIALS OF A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
in the atmosphere of a Bohemian restaurant
BLACKWOOD & SONS
458 By Principal W. M. Childs, University College,
than on a yacht moored off Cowes. The CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
456 Reading.
CATALOGUES
IS CIVILISATION IN DANGER? A Reply. By Joseph
strange ingenuousness of his heroine has
CHATTO & WINDUS
M'Cabe.
also to be taken into account. Innocence
COBDEN-SANDERSON
FRESH LIGHT ON THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM.
at the mercy of disreputable associates is EDUCATIONAL
Matthew a Lucan Source. By Robinson Smith, M. A.
ENGLISH REVIEW
THE OCCULT OBSESSIONS OF SCIENCE with
a satisfactory enough formula for drama,
ENO'S FRUIT SALT
Descartes as an Object-Lesson. By Louis T. More,
provided the innocence be not too incredible.
Professor of Physics, University of Cincinnati.
But Mr. Hoffe’s heroine, after following a
INSURANCE COMPANIES
BUSINESS, GOODNESS, AND IMAGINATION. Ву
Gerald Stanley Lee.
lover with the idea of being his wife in
LECTURES :
THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY OF RUDOLF
the sight of heaven " before she is in the Low & Co.
EUCKEN. By Baron Friedrich von Hugel.
MACMILLAN & Co.
DIVINE PROMPTINGS. By Signora Re-Bartlett.
eyes of the law, exhibits in her talk an
MAGAZINES, &c.
SOCIAL SERVICE. No. 8. -What Public School Men
ignorance of life that would be surprising in MISCELLANEOUS. .
can do.
By S. P. Grundy, General Secretary, Man.
NASH
a girl of fifteen, and is hardly conceivable in
chester City League of Help.
NOTES AND QUERIES
482 WITH DISCUSSIONS. SURVEY OF RECENT PHILO.
one who has earned her living as a governess.
SOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
The author has relied on sentiment in ROUTLEDGE & Sons
By Prof. G. Dawes Hicks and Dr. James Moffatt, and
SALES BY AUCTION
Signed Reviews.
handling a theme for which the suitable
SCOTTISH WIDOWS' FUND
Super-royal 8vo, 28. 8d, net ; post free, 2s. 9d.
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SHIPPING . .
Yearly Subscriptions, commencing with any number,
SITUATIONS VACANT
Not all the breezy good-nature of Mr.
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE
108. per annum, post free.
481
Bourchier's Peter or the girlish charm of
TYPE-WRITKAS, &c.
WILLIAMS & NORGATE, 14, Henrietta Street,
UNWIN
Miss Julia James's Periwinkle can induce WILLIAMS & NORGATE
Covent Garden, London, W. C.
success.
>
PAGE
454
482
. .
:::
::::::
.
::::::::::::::
EXHIBITIONS
454
483
457
453
484
482
453
482
467
453
456
458
455
454
456
LANE
O
PRINTERS
454
456
154
483
482
463
. .
:::
454
468
480
## p. 487 (#367) ############################################
No. 4410, MAY 4, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
491
1912
was
TY
DERN
CONTENTS.
.
ROBERT BROWNING
PITT AND NAPOLEON
MADAME STRINHEIL'S MEMORIES
PAGE
491
492
493 Troy.
LEATHER
494-495
256
PAGES
496 497
LANGUAGE
THE CANON LAW IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
FLERT STREET AND THE STRAND
AUTOGRAPH SALE
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS
FORTHCOMING BOOKS
LITERARY GOSSIP
IB NET
503
504
6
DY.
M. A. M. P.
LL, PLS
VAL
2R, MA
WEEK ; GOSSIP
505--507
FINE ARTS-NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS; MR. WALTER
SICKERT AT THE CARPAX GALLERY; THE ROYAL
ACADEMY ; SALES ; GOSSIP
507-509
GY,
TH, 14
PERFORMANCES NEXT WEEK
509510
DRAMA SHAKESPEARE AND SOME ACTORS; GOSSIP
511-512
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
512
a
A FRS
DAT
h Maps
PAINA
7001.
LLIR
7
总
6
Wong
10
) 6
>
born in Scotland. Doubtless it The Ring and the Book,' with its
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1912. from her that he derived his love of music. exquisite invocation to his wife :-
He was, we are told, when an infant,
hushed to sleep by his father to the
O lyric Love, half angel and half bird,
And all a wonder and a wild desire.
words of an ode by Anacreon; as a child
of five, he was interested in the tale of Just before its publication Messrs. Smith
His schooldays were
unsatis- & Elder issued a uniform edition of the
ENOLISH MEDIEVAL LITERATURE AND THE ENGLISH factory, and were soon over. It is sig- poems to that date. This may be said,
nificant, just at this period in the history with the appearance of his masterpiece, to
490 of the University of London, to note that mark Browning's full public recognition
the elder Browning was one of the early as a poet. The Athenæum, which had
198 shareholders who subscribed 1001. towards not hesitated to criticise some of his work
the foundation of University College. severely, rendered unstinted praise to
Robert's name was among the first entered The Ring and the Book. ' In a sense,
SCIENCE-THE DOCTOR AND THE PEOPLE; NOTICES
on the register of students, but he left Browning's genius had sprung early to
OF NEW BOOKS; SOCIETIES; MEETINGS NEXT
with what must have been disconcerting maturity. Some passages in Paracelsus'
abruptness. It was in the home, in his are as fine as anything he ever wrote,
father's library, that he received his but the dramatic treatment of the story
true education; and he speaks of
of Pompilia marks it out as supreme.
MUSIC-BROWNING AS THE POET OF MUSIC; Gossip;
In attempting to estimate the genius
My first dawn of life,
of Browning, it is useless to ignore the
Which passed alone with wisest ancient books,
All halo-girt with fancies of my own.
much-vexed question about which a
In the spring of 1829, when he great deal of nonsense has been talked
left college, Robert Browning definitely of poetry that would separate the sub-
and written. It is altogether a false view
chose poetry as his vocation. In 1833
stance and the form. A philosopher may
LITERATURE
* Pauline' was published, of which The
Athenæum remarked that “fine things although the mode in which they are
be hailed as great because of his ideas,
abound; there is no difficulty in finding
placed before the student be crabbed
passages to vindicate our praise. . . . To
and halting. But in true poetry thought
ROBERT BROWNING.
one who sings so naturally, poetry must
Para-
be as easy as music is to a bird. "
and its expression cannot be thus severed.
The century which has elapsed since celsus,' which followed, caused the judg-evitable form, and neither can be con-
The content moulds for itself the in-
Robert Browning's birth probably owes ment of the latter sentence to be some-
as much to his influence as to that of any what revised, and we can hardly wonder separable substance,” to quote Dr. A. C.
sidered separately. The “heresy of the
other modern poet. This is not because at this; but there was much that was
admiration for his work can, as yet, be splendid in the poem.
Next came
Bradley's Oxford Lectures on Poetry,
is untenable. It is therefore beside the
called general; but the intensity of the Strafford,” Sordello, due to the study mark to plead, in defence of the art of
appreciation, in his case, may be said of Dante, and series after series of ‘ Bells
to make up for its lack of extent. In and Pomegranates. '
Browning, that although the expression
his character, triple and indivisible, of
may be clumsy and repellent, the ideas
prophet, philosopher, and singer, he has
Meanwhile a Miss Barrett had been are admirable. He satirized this criticism
laid such hold upon those who love him, writing in The Athenæum a series of himself in ‘The Inn Album':-
that their devotion amounts to something articles on the early Greek Christian poets,
That bard 's a Browning; he neglects the form :
like a religion.
and it is interesting to note that it was But ah, the sense, ye gods, the weighty sense !
The oft-quoted sentence of Hegel that through these that she was first brought
The oft-quoted sentence of Hegel that into touch with Browning, who was,
The Saturday Review of November 24th,
A great man condemns the world to she writes to Mr. Boyd," not behind in 1855, accused him of a set purpose to
repeated once again with regard to is said to be learned in Greek, especi- sort of thing be true of anything that he
the attack of explaining him,” has been approbation" "Moreover, "-"Mr. Browning be obscure, and an idiot captivity to the
.
“
jingle of Hudibrastic rhyme. ” If this
Browning. And when was “task more
conscientiously
ally in the dramatists. " Every one
undertaken ? Critical,
knows the wonderful details of the romance
has written, it is out of accord with the
metaphysical, biographical volumes of that followed.
Browning apologetics”
Life in Italy after the root conception of poetry. In all his
constitute
literature in themselves. A society, re-
marriage in 1846 had a deep influence work, but especially in later years, the
love of dialectic, intellectual analysis,
on the poet's genius.
garded with half - humorous recognition and Easter - Day' appeared in 1850,
Christmas Eve
and brutal frankness sometimes got the
.
by the poet, was founded in his lifetime in the same year The Athenæum urged better of him.
to elucidate his works. The very phrase Mrs. Browning's appointment to the
In
No author who put forth such a vast
** Browning student," is significant. Who Laureateship, then vacant through the quantity, of work as Browning did,
talks about a
Tennyson student,” a death of Wordsworth. It was suggested writing for upwards of fifty years on all
Matthew Arnold student” ? Accord-
ingly his genealogy and youthful environ-
that the choice of a woman would be a manner of subjects, can invariably be at
his best. But one feels occasionally that
ment have been scrutinised with the graceful compliment to Queen Victoria.
he did not want to be at his best; that
view of explaining his individuality.
The two volumes of 'Men and Women' he was disdainful of the beauty which is
Camberwell Dissent - Middle Class !
were Browning's next achievement, and part of the ultimate secret of all true
This "study of origins sounds more
the last poem here is 'One Word More' poetry; that he gloried in the harshness
unpromising than it is. In 1812 Camber-
to E. B. B. In 1861 Mrs. Browning died. and obscurity which tend to destroy it.
well
virtually in the
the country,
The Athenæum, with which she had long
The Athenæum spoke of the "music"
and from Southampton Street, wheró been intimately connected, and which of Pauline," and it seems extraordinary
‘
Browning lived as a child, he could hear
was the indirect means of introducing that the poem should long, have been
the nightingales call one to another.
her and her husband to one another, 1 excluded by its author from the collection
The religious influences of his home happened to be almost the last printed of his works. Crude, boyish, unequal
,
made for earnestness and independence page she looked upon.
it may be ; but the mystical description
of thought. As to his parentage, his
It was characteristic of Browning that of music itself, for example, is beautiful.
father was a clerk in the Bank of England; in his deep anguish he resolved still “ to We deal elsewhere to-day with that
his mother, “a divine woman ” to her live and work and write. ” After the special feeling for music which is so
son, was of German extraction, though publication of Dramatis Personæ ' came strong in Browning's work.
TS
1.
a
6
3
a
. 66
>
6
was
>
## p. 488 (#368) ############################################
492
No. 4410, May 4, 1912
THE A THENÆUM
Τ Α
>
a
a
on
Wherein lies the compelling splendour
Paracelsus, the model of intellectual
of Browning's art ? First, in his dra- egotism, is misled by vain confidence, Pitt and Napoleon : Essays and Letters.
matic power, and secondly in his idealism. but in the end he discerns the truth.
By J. Holland Rose. (Bell & Sons. )
“My stress lay on the incidents in the Bishop Blougram, worldly and selfish The title of this volume—“Pitt and
development of a soul ; little else is materialist, says :-
worth study," he says in the introduc- Just when we are safest, there 's a sunset-touch,
Napoleon'- may mislead. It suggests
tion to 'Sordello. '
A fancy from a flower-bell, some one's death,
an exposition of the policy of the British
Since Shakespeare, there has been no
A chorus-ending from Euripides, -
minister with regard to Bonaparte, but the
And that 's enough for fifty hopes and fears
book contains nothing of the sort. It is
such dramatic poet; no one, that is, As old and new at once as nature's self,
with so much of the stuff of drama in
composed of nine essays and of several
To rap and knock and enter in our soul.
his work. Shakespeare revealed his Browning's steadily optimistic concep-documents of the period, regarding either
collections of correspondence and other
characters by action Browning reveals tion of the world, as Sir Henry Jones says, Pitt or Napoleon; but very few pages
them chiefly by the study of motive. infused new vigour into English ethical in the volume touch upon Pitt's policy
The greater part of what he discerned thought. Men felt they could reasonably with respect to Napoleon, or juxtapose
in man was not adapted for action behind trust
him. It is the poet who must take the two great names in any relation what-
the footlights. In his Dramatic Lyrics the leap forward; the philosopher must
and in The Ring and the Book,' follow.
Mon SAT. London Opera House, Kingsway.
Mon. Frederick Stock's Violin Recital, 8 16, Steinway Hall
Dr. Rumschiysky's Planotorte Recital. 8 80, Bechstein Hall.
TUES. René Bohet's Orchestral Concert, 3. 15, Æolian Hall.
Johanna Ferida's Vocal Recital, 3. 16, Bechstein Ball
Kathleen Bruckshaw's Pianoforte Recital, 8. 15, Æolian Hall
Johan Wysman's Pianoforte Kecital 8. 15, Bechstein Hall.
WED. Raoul Pugno's Pianoforte Recital, 3, Queen's Hall.
Arthur Rubinstein's Pianoforte Recital, 3, Bechstein fall.
Roland Jackson's Vocal Recital, 8. 15, Æolian Ball
Marie Leschetizky's (hamber Concert, 8. 15, Bechstein Hall.
Baltour Gardiner'i Concert 8. 80 Queen's Hall.
## p. 480 (#366) ############################################
480
No. 4409, APRIL 27, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
HOME UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY OF MODERN
KNOWLEDGE.
LEATHER.
11
"! such as
New York, Macmillan Co. Mr. BRAM STOKER, who died on Saturday
belief in Mr. Hoffe’s rather ugly little fairy-
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
tale. Fortunately there is one droll cha-
INotice in these columns doos not preclude longer racter in the play, which Mr. Frederick Kerr
review. )
impersonates, a politician on the look-out
Hardy (Harold), THE TRAGEDY OF AMY
for impropriety, whose every speech, thanks
ŘORSART, in Five Acts, 2/6 net. Banks largely to the actor's dry manner, is pro-
Mr. Hardy has dramatized the story of vocative of laughter. Other attempts at
Amy Robsart with some care and dignity humour are dragged in with no more artistry
of utterance, and without lapses of taste. than is customary on the variety stage--this
Editors:
NET.
His blank verse, though resonant, melli- does not mean that we failed to admire Mr.
Herbert Fisher, M. A.
fluous, and full of agreeable word-pictures, James Carew's cameo of a Yankee character. 256
F. B. A.
256
is too sedate and monotonous to kindle any
Prof. Gilbert Murray,
D. Litt. LL. D. F. B. A.
but slight fires in the reader. Nor is the THE French players, who inaugurated their
PAGES,
PAGES
Prof. J. Arthur
characterization more than shadowy. But season at the Little Theatre on Wednesday
Thomson, M. A.
OLOTE.
2/6 NET.
the play is sincere and praiseworthy, and night, if they stimulated us with their
Prof. Wm. T. Browstor.
reminiscent of the more quietistic Eliza- acting, did not captivate us by their choice
bethan manner. It is engaging rather than of play. ‘La Casaque’ was Molière bowd- THE FIFTH TEN VOLUNRS NOW RBADY.
powerful.
lerized, wrenched into a shape congenial 11. CONSERVATISM. LORD HUGH Cecil, M. A. M. P.
for histrionic tours de force. Of M. Tra-
26. AGRICULTURE. Prof. W. SOMERVILLE, F. L. S.
Kerr (Mina), INFLUENCE OF BEN JONSON ON
rieux's 'Un Soir,' the less said the better.
43. ENGLISH LITERATURE, MEDIÆVAL.
ENGLISH COMEDY, 1598–1642.
Prof. W. P. KER, M. A.
Its theme is the calculation of a woman,
University of Pennsylvania who, thanks to the generosity of her husband,
44. THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSIOLOGY.
Prof. J. G. MCKENDRICK, M. D.
A monograph of insatiable industry, but decides to forego elopement with the fiancé
45. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
'hardly one that is likely to stimulate interest of her stepdaughter and to abide by the
J. PEARSALL SMITH, M. A.
in the subject. The author is too much ad marital respectabilities. The characters do
46. MATTER AND ENERGY.
F. SODDY, M. A F. R. S.
dicted to pigeon-holing the subject matter, not step out from their automatic sheaths, 47. BUDDHISM.
MRS. RHYS DAVIDS.
crowding the thesis with superabundant and the play is grotesque in its unreality and
48. THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR With Maps.
allusion, and discovering points of identity lame conjuring of a situation.
Prof. F. L. PAXSON.
between Ben Jonson, and his dramatic con-
49. PSYCHOLOGY. The study of Behaviour:
temporaries and descendants, the existence of
What interested us was the capability of
Prof. W. MCDOUGALL, M. B.
the actors. What they cando in circumstances
50. NONCONFORMITY.
which most students of English literature are
Its Origin and
Progress.
Principal W. B. SELBIE, M. A.
aware of. Jonson's influence is discussed that require depth, insight, and tragic
chiefly in relation to his “ sons,"
realization cannot yet be gauged. But they SECOND PRIZE COMPETITION.
Nathaniel Field, Richard Brome, Randolph, navigate the shoals and shallow waters of
First Prize, £25.
Second Prize, £5.
Cartwright, and others.
characterization with consummate ease and
And Ten Consolation Prizes of Books for the Best Short
flexibility. The air of the salon clings Essays on any one or all of the above volumes.
Shakespeare, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF about them, but they are so jaunty and
Write for a complete Descriptive Pamphlet containing
KING JOHN, edited by Henry M. sprightly that they allure by their sheer particulars of the volumes published, and of a large
Belden, 1/ net.
charm.
number in active preparation.
The Introduction seems to us better than last at the age of 65, was a versatile author
CAPTAIN CARTWRIGHT AND
the Notes, which are too concise. Part of
HIS LABRADOR JOURNAL.
and journalist. His weird and flamboyant
the Tudor Edition.
Edited by CHARLES WENDELL TOWNSEND, M. B.
stories, of which · Dracula is the best
With an Introduction by Dr. WILFRED T. GRENFELL.
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, arranged for
known, had a considerable vogue; but he
Illustrations from Old Engravings, Photographs, and
Performance by the Cambridge Reper- friend and assistant of Irving, of whom he
will be remembered mainly as the devoted
a Map.
1 vol. crown 8vo, 58, net.
tory Company by Orlando Barnett,
1/ net.
Cambridge, Heffer published · Personal Reminiscences in 1906 STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS.
The Introduction begins with a record of and 1907. He became Irving's manager in
An Investigation with the Balance.
the work accomplished since February, 1911, 1878, and served him with unceasing fervour
By H. P. GUPPY, M. B. F. R. S. E.
by the Cambridge Repertory Company,
and affection in days alike of stress and
Demy 8vo, cloth, 158. not.
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The simplification of Shakespeare appears
PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNA.
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In 1 vol. sewed, 4g. net.
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We cannot undertake to reply to inquiries concerning the
appearance of reviews of books.
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THE HIBBERT JOURNAL.
It is easy to detect in the new Garrick play pictures, &c.
Principal Contents of APRIL Number. NOW READY.
the author and even the formula of The
THE RIGHT TO STRIKE AND LOCK-OUT. By Robert
Little Damozel, but in ‘Improper Peter
A. Duff, D. Phil.
Mr. Monckton Hoffe has not mixed his
THE JESUS OF “Q"-the Oldest Source in the Gospels.
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
By George Holley Gilbert.
ingredients so adroitly, as before. Perhaps
THE GREAT QUESTION. By William Dillon, Chicago.
his choice of setting has something to do
BRAHMA. An Account of the Central Doctrine of Hindu
Theology as understood in the East and misunderstood
with his smaller degree of success. Fantastic
in the West. By Prof. S. A. Desai, Holkar College,
situations and types seem more appropriate
AUTHORS' AGENTS
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BAGSTER & SONS
THE ESSENTIALS OF A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
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BLACKWOOD & SONS
458 By Principal W. M. Childs, University College,
than on a yacht moored off Cowes. The CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
456 Reading.
CATALOGUES
IS CIVILISATION IN DANGER? A Reply. By Joseph
strange ingenuousness of his heroine has
CHATTO & WINDUS
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COBDEN-SANDERSON
FRESH LIGHT ON THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM.
at the mercy of disreputable associates is EDUCATIONAL
Matthew a Lucan Source. By Robinson Smith, M. A.
ENGLISH REVIEW
THE OCCULT OBSESSIONS OF SCIENCE with
a satisfactory enough formula for drama,
ENO'S FRUIT SALT
Descartes as an Object-Lesson. By Louis T. More,
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Professor of Physics, University of Cincinnati.
But Mr. Hoffe’s heroine, after following a
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NOTES AND QUERIES
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SOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
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>
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No. 4410, MAY 4, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
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ROBERT BROWNING
PITT AND NAPOLEON
MADAME STRINHEIL'S MEMORIES
PAGE
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492
493 Troy.
LEATHER
494-495
256
PAGES
496 497
LANGUAGE
THE CANON LAW IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
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born in Scotland. Doubtless it The Ring and the Book,' with its
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1912. from her that he derived his love of music. exquisite invocation to his wife :-
He was, we are told, when an infant,
hushed to sleep by his father to the
O lyric Love, half angel and half bird,
And all a wonder and a wild desire.
words of an ode by Anacreon; as a child
of five, he was interested in the tale of Just before its publication Messrs. Smith
His schooldays were
unsatis- & Elder issued a uniform edition of the
ENOLISH MEDIEVAL LITERATURE AND THE ENGLISH factory, and were soon over. It is sig- poems to that date. This may be said,
nificant, just at this period in the history with the appearance of his masterpiece, to
490 of the University of London, to note that mark Browning's full public recognition
the elder Browning was one of the early as a poet. The Athenæum, which had
198 shareholders who subscribed 1001. towards not hesitated to criticise some of his work
the foundation of University College. severely, rendered unstinted praise to
Robert's name was among the first entered The Ring and the Book. ' In a sense,
SCIENCE-THE DOCTOR AND THE PEOPLE; NOTICES
on the register of students, but he left Browning's genius had sprung early to
OF NEW BOOKS; SOCIETIES; MEETINGS NEXT
with what must have been disconcerting maturity. Some passages in Paracelsus'
abruptness. It was in the home, in his are as fine as anything he ever wrote,
father's library, that he received his but the dramatic treatment of the story
true education; and he speaks of
of Pompilia marks it out as supreme.
MUSIC-BROWNING AS THE POET OF MUSIC; Gossip;
In attempting to estimate the genius
My first dawn of life,
of Browning, it is useless to ignore the
Which passed alone with wisest ancient books,
All halo-girt with fancies of my own.
much-vexed question about which a
In the spring of 1829, when he great deal of nonsense has been talked
left college, Robert Browning definitely of poetry that would separate the sub-
and written. It is altogether a false view
chose poetry as his vocation. In 1833
stance and the form. A philosopher may
LITERATURE
* Pauline' was published, of which The
Athenæum remarked that “fine things although the mode in which they are
be hailed as great because of his ideas,
abound; there is no difficulty in finding
placed before the student be crabbed
passages to vindicate our praise. . . . To
and halting. But in true poetry thought
ROBERT BROWNING.
one who sings so naturally, poetry must
Para-
be as easy as music is to a bird. "
and its expression cannot be thus severed.
The century which has elapsed since celsus,' which followed, caused the judg-evitable form, and neither can be con-
The content moulds for itself the in-
Robert Browning's birth probably owes ment of the latter sentence to be some-
as much to his influence as to that of any what revised, and we can hardly wonder separable substance,” to quote Dr. A. C.
sidered separately. The “heresy of the
other modern poet. This is not because at this; but there was much that was
admiration for his work can, as yet, be splendid in the poem.
Next came
Bradley's Oxford Lectures on Poetry,
is untenable. It is therefore beside the
called general; but the intensity of the Strafford,” Sordello, due to the study mark to plead, in defence of the art of
appreciation, in his case, may be said of Dante, and series after series of ‘ Bells
to make up for its lack of extent. In and Pomegranates. '
Browning, that although the expression
his character, triple and indivisible, of
may be clumsy and repellent, the ideas
prophet, philosopher, and singer, he has
Meanwhile a Miss Barrett had been are admirable. He satirized this criticism
laid such hold upon those who love him, writing in The Athenæum a series of himself in ‘The Inn Album':-
that their devotion amounts to something articles on the early Greek Christian poets,
That bard 's a Browning; he neglects the form :
like a religion.
and it is interesting to note that it was But ah, the sense, ye gods, the weighty sense !
The oft-quoted sentence of Hegel that through these that she was first brought
The oft-quoted sentence of Hegel that into touch with Browning, who was,
The Saturday Review of November 24th,
A great man condemns the world to she writes to Mr. Boyd," not behind in 1855, accused him of a set purpose to
repeated once again with regard to is said to be learned in Greek, especi- sort of thing be true of anything that he
the attack of explaining him,” has been approbation" "Moreover, "-"Mr. Browning be obscure, and an idiot captivity to the
.
“
jingle of Hudibrastic rhyme. ” If this
Browning. And when was “task more
conscientiously
ally in the dramatists. " Every one
undertaken ? Critical,
knows the wonderful details of the romance
has written, it is out of accord with the
metaphysical, biographical volumes of that followed.
Browning apologetics”
Life in Italy after the root conception of poetry. In all his
constitute
literature in themselves. A society, re-
marriage in 1846 had a deep influence work, but especially in later years, the
love of dialectic, intellectual analysis,
on the poet's genius.
garded with half - humorous recognition and Easter - Day' appeared in 1850,
Christmas Eve
and brutal frankness sometimes got the
.
by the poet, was founded in his lifetime in the same year The Athenæum urged better of him.
to elucidate his works. The very phrase Mrs. Browning's appointment to the
In
No author who put forth such a vast
** Browning student," is significant. Who Laureateship, then vacant through the quantity, of work as Browning did,
talks about a
Tennyson student,” a death of Wordsworth. It was suggested writing for upwards of fifty years on all
Matthew Arnold student” ? Accord-
ingly his genealogy and youthful environ-
that the choice of a woman would be a manner of subjects, can invariably be at
his best. But one feels occasionally that
ment have been scrutinised with the graceful compliment to Queen Victoria.
he did not want to be at his best; that
view of explaining his individuality.
The two volumes of 'Men and Women' he was disdainful of the beauty which is
Camberwell Dissent - Middle Class !
were Browning's next achievement, and part of the ultimate secret of all true
This "study of origins sounds more
the last poem here is 'One Word More' poetry; that he gloried in the harshness
unpromising than it is. In 1812 Camber-
to E. B. B. In 1861 Mrs. Browning died. and obscurity which tend to destroy it.
well
virtually in the
the country,
The Athenæum, with which she had long
The Athenæum spoke of the "music"
and from Southampton Street, wheró been intimately connected, and which of Pauline," and it seems extraordinary
‘
Browning lived as a child, he could hear
was the indirect means of introducing that the poem should long, have been
the nightingales call one to another.
her and her husband to one another, 1 excluded by its author from the collection
The religious influences of his home happened to be almost the last printed of his works. Crude, boyish, unequal
,
made for earnestness and independence page she looked upon.
it may be ; but the mystical description
of thought. As to his parentage, his
It was characteristic of Browning that of music itself, for example, is beautiful.
father was a clerk in the Bank of England; in his deep anguish he resolved still “ to We deal elsewhere to-day with that
his mother, “a divine woman ” to her live and work and write. ” After the special feeling for music which is so
son, was of German extraction, though publication of Dramatis Personæ ' came strong in Browning's work.
TS
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## p. 488 (#368) ############################################
492
No. 4410, May 4, 1912
THE A THENÆUM
Τ Α
>
a
a
on
Wherein lies the compelling splendour
Paracelsus, the model of intellectual
of Browning's art ? First, in his dra- egotism, is misled by vain confidence, Pitt and Napoleon : Essays and Letters.
matic power, and secondly in his idealism. but in the end he discerns the truth.
By J. Holland Rose. (Bell & Sons. )
“My stress lay on the incidents in the Bishop Blougram, worldly and selfish The title of this volume—“Pitt and
development of a soul ; little else is materialist, says :-
worth study," he says in the introduc- Just when we are safest, there 's a sunset-touch,
Napoleon'- may mislead. It suggests
tion to 'Sordello. '
A fancy from a flower-bell, some one's death,
an exposition of the policy of the British
Since Shakespeare, there has been no
A chorus-ending from Euripides, -
minister with regard to Bonaparte, but the
And that 's enough for fifty hopes and fears
book contains nothing of the sort. It is
such dramatic poet; no one, that is, As old and new at once as nature's self,
with so much of the stuff of drama in
composed of nine essays and of several
To rap and knock and enter in our soul.
his work. Shakespeare revealed his Browning's steadily optimistic concep-documents of the period, regarding either
collections of correspondence and other
characters by action Browning reveals tion of the world, as Sir Henry Jones says, Pitt or Napoleon; but very few pages
them chiefly by the study of motive. infused new vigour into English ethical in the volume touch upon Pitt's policy
The greater part of what he discerned thought. Men felt they could reasonably with respect to Napoleon, or juxtapose
in man was not adapted for action behind trust
him. It is the poet who must take the two great names in any relation what-
the footlights. In his Dramatic Lyrics the leap forward; the philosopher must
and in The Ring and the Book,' follow.
