which has produced several
interesting
plays.
Athenaeum - London - 1912a
He quotes the ‘ Dropmore Papers,'
In the essay on Pitt and Fitzwilliam d’Artois “ Monsieur. ” There is a and we would commend to his example
we are told that part of the “unique perplexing note, repeated several times, the excellent index to that collection
claim
supremacy in
the Whig See The Quarterly Review for 1912. ” compiled by Miss M. H. Roberts.
phalanx possessed by Fitzwilliam was When the book was published only one
that he was
the husband of Lady number of The Quarterly for 1912 had
Dorothy Cavendish. ” Without accepting appeared, and it contained nothing to
the suggestion of the supremacy
'" of which the note seemed to refer.
My Memoirs. By Marguerite Steinheil.
Fitzwilliam either within or without the
he The correspondence printed in the (Eveleigh Nash. )
“ phalanx," we may point out that his volume is all worth reading, and though
lady's name was neither Dorothy nor little of it relates to Napoleon, some of This unedifying work has not all the
Cavendish. She was Lady Charlotte Pon- the letters, on a large variety of other political importance which some of our
sonby, daughter of Lord Bessborough, subjects, are of great interest as throwing contemporaries have attributed to it.
and, though her mother was a Cavendish, a light on the atmosphere of the Court The first quarter of the book, which
she was not called Dorothy either. An and of the political world in Pitt's time. includes the chapters relating to the
essential quality for an expert in the Such is a letter of 1791 from Pitt to the author's connexion with the President of
political history of the reign of George III. owner of a pocket borough in Cornwall, the French Republic, Félix Faure, con-
is familiarity with Whig pedigrees, worth- recommending “an East Indian of good tains very little which is not familiar to
less though similar knowledge is in the fortune and character ” who was willing those who were acquainted with the
history of politics in our own time. to pay 3,0001. for the seat. Such are inner movement of political life in France
The memoirs of Marbot supply a facile letters from George III. to Pitt, com- at the close of the last century. Never-
opportunity for criticism to a writer who plaining in 1786 that his six daughters theless, some of the pages in this part of
knows his First Empire. One, of the have not enough money to dress upon“,
the volume are of considerable interest
periods of Napoleon's life in which we can not so much as George II. 's “ princesses to English readers. The rest of the book
follow his occupations day by day is in 1737, “ when every article of life was deals with the murder of her husband and
that of the “ Séjour à Bayonne " in 1808. cheaper than now. ”; or, in 1787, about her mother, for which the author was tried
,
If our author had minutely studied it, the debts of the Prince of Wales, deploring and acquitted.
he would not have accepted one of his association with such “a fellow as There cannot be many readers who will
Narbot's most glaring inventions. Dr. Mr. Sheridan. ” Pitt's controversy with have the patience or the curiosity to wade
the King, in 1794, about relieving the through the twenty-two later chapters for
Duke of York from his command of the the sake of the unpleasant details of the
* At the end of his (Marbot’s] ride from forces, displays some of the difficulties crime. Yet they have a certain value for
Madrid to Bayonne, when he bore the news the minister had to contend with in the students of comparative procedure. They
of the suppression of the heroic rising of the early period of the war. Another inter- not only give a complete description of a
men of Madrid on 2nd May, 1808, he was
privileged to hear”-
esting letter is from Windham to Pitt, French criminal trial in all its stages, but,
showing the pressure put upon the latter what is almost unknown in an English
and then he goes on to satirize Marbot's to help the French Royalists, in 1799, just book, they also furnish an official, verbatim
narrative of the private conversations before the coup d'état of Brumaire, which report of parts of the long interrogatory
he professed to have overheard. But changed the whole situation in France and undergone by a prisoner during the
Dr. Rose misses the chief point of Marbot's in Europe.
"instruction, or private examination,
gasconading. He accepts his most Of the essays, the most valuable is, in before committal to the assizes. Although
audacious fabrication, namely, that it our opinion, that on Pitt and the Relief the prisoner, before committal, has less
·
was he (Marbot) who“ bore the news of the Poor,' relating to distress prevalent fair-play than in England, it will be seen
of the suppression ” of the insurrection in England at the close of the eighteenth here that, under our new rule admitting
at Madrid.
The officer who carried century. In these days of State Socialism the evidence of an accused person, he or
the dispatch which decided the destiny it is interesting to study the attempts she has a better chance before a French
of the Spanish royal family was Capt. made to remedy the Elizabethan system of than before an English jury, the inter-
Danencourt, and any other fictions with poor relief and to see that in Pitt's time a rogatory by the French presiding judge
which Marbot embroidered this story are contributory scheme of Old-Age Pensions being usually less severe than the cross-
of relatively small importance.
was proposed. Of the other essays, the best examination by an English counsel for
Certain passages or incidental allusions are, we think, British Rule in Corsica 'and the prosecution. Other advantages en-
in the book suggest that the author \ Napoleon’s Conception of the Battle of ! joyed by the French prisoner, as shown
gar
, is
poleas
iteru
minte
t of a
APS
ܬܐ
olar
berdiri
ofaut
Rose says :-
66
41
Hir
lukte
她是
6
!
## p. 490 (#370) ############################################
480
No. 4409, APRIL 27, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
Τ
HOME UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY OF MODERN
KNOWLEDGE
LEATHER
CLOTH.
2
6
"such as
2
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
belief in Mr. Hoffe's rather ugly little fairy-
INotice in these columns does not preclude longer
tale. Fortunately there is one droll cha-
reviow. )
racter in the play, which Mr. Frederick Kerr
Hardy (Harold), Tak TRAGEDY OF Amy for impropriety, whose every speech, thanks
impersonates, a politician on the look-out
ROBSART, 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.
His blank verse, though resonant, melli- / does not mean that we failed to admire Mr.
than is customary on the variety stage--this
Editors :
NET.
Herbert Fisher, M. A.
fluous, and full of agreeable word-pictures, James Carew's cameo of a Yankee character.
F. B. A.
is too sedate and monotonous to kindle any
256
256
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.
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 VOLUNES 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.
Kerr (Mina), INFLUENCE OF BEN JONSON ON
Prof. W. SOMERVILLE, F. L. S.
ENGLISH COMEDY, 1598–1642.
rieux's 'Un Soir, the less said the better. 43. ENGLISH LITERATURE, MEDIÆVAL.
Prof. W. P. KER, M. A.
Its theme is the calculation of & 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. Rurs 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
KING JOHN, edited by Henry M. sprightly that they allure by their sheer particulars of the volumes published, and of a large
Write for a complete Descriptive Pamphlet containing
Belden, 1/ net.
charm.
number in active preparation.
New York, Macmillan Co.
The Introduction seems to us better than
MR. BRAM STOKER, who died on Saturday CAPTAIN CARTWRIGHT AND
the Notes,
which are too concise. Part of last at the age of 65, was a versatile
author
HIS LABRADOR JOURNAL.
the Tudor Edition.
and journalist. His weird and flamboyant
stories, of which Dracula' is the best
Edited by CHARLES WENDELL TOWNSEND, M. B.
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, arranged for
known, had a considerable vogue; but he
With an Introduction by Dr. WILFRED T. GRENFELL.
Illustrations from Old Engravings, Photographs, and
Performance by the Cambridge Reper- will be remembered mainly as the devoted
а Мар.
tory Company by Orlando Barnett, friend and assistant of Irving, of whom he
1 vol. crown 8vo, 58, net.
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
the work accomplished since February, 1911,
1878, and served him with unceasing fervour
An Investigation with the Balanco.
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. zet.
(Ready May 1.
which has produced several interesting plays. success.
The simplification of Shakespeare appears
PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNA-
to us to be rather drastic.
TO CORRESPONDENTS. -D. H. F. -T. H. D. -H. M. -
TIONAL CONFERENCE.
C. C. 8. -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.
Dramatic Gossip.
We cannot undertake to reply to inquiries concerning the
In 1 vol. sewed, 4s. net.
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.
the author and even the formula of The
Principal Contents of APRIL Number. NOW READY.
Little Damozel,' but in ‘Iinproper Peter'
THE RIGHT TO STRIKE AND LOCK-OUT. By Robert
A. Duff, D. Phil.
Mr. Monckton Hoffe has not mixed his
THE JESUS OF "Q"-the Oldest Source in the Gospels.
ingredients so adroitly as before. Perhaps
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
By George Holley Gilbert.
THE GREAT QUESTION. By William Dillon, Chicago,
his choice of setting has something to do
BRAHMA. An Account of the Central Doctrine of Hindu
with his smaller degree of success. Fantastic
Theology as understood in the East and misunderstood
in the West. By Prof. S. A. Desai, Holkar College,
situations and types seem more appropriate
Indore, Central India.
in the atmosphere of a Bohemian restaurant
BAGSTER & SONS
THE ESSENTIALS OF A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
than on a yacht moored off Cowes. The
By Principal W. M. Childs, University College,
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Reading.
strange ingenuousness of his heroine has CATALOGUES
IS CIVILISATION IN DANGER? A Reply. By Joseph
also to be taken into account. Innocence
CHATTO & WINDUS
M'Cabe.
COBDEN-SANDERSON
FRESH LIGHT ON THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM.
at the mercy of disreputable associates is EDUCATIONAL
a satisfactory enough formula for drama,
ENGLISH REVIEW
Matthew a Lucan Source. By Robinson Smith, M. A.
THE OCCULT OBSESSIONS OF SCIENCE
with
ENO'S FRUIT SALT
Descartes as an Object-Lesson. By Louis T. More,
provided the innocence be not too incredible. EXHIBITIONS
But Mr. Hoffe's heroine, after following a
INSURANCE COMPANIES
Professor of Physics, University of Cincinnati.
BUSINESS, GOODNESS, AND IMAGINATION. By
LANE
lover with the idea of being his wife in
Gerald Stanley Lee.
LECTURES . .
THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY OF RUDOLF
the sight of heaven” before she is in the low & Co.
EUCKEN. By Baron Friedrich von Hugel.
eyes of the law, exhibits in her talk an
MACMILLAN & Co.
DIVINE PROMPTINGS. By Signora Re-Bartlett.
MAGAZINES, &c.
SOCIAL SERVICE.
ignorance of life that would be surprising in
No. 3. - What Public School Men
MISCELLANEOUS
a girl of fifteen, and is hardly conceivable in
NASH
By8. P. Grundy, General Secretary, Man.
one who has earned her living as a governess.
NOTES AND QUERIES
chester City League of Help.
WITH DISCUSSIONS. SURVEY OF RECENT PHILO.
PRINTERS . .
The author has relied on sentiment in ROUTLEDGE & Sons
SOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
By Prof. G. Dawes Hicks and Dr. James Moffatt, and
handling a theme for which the suitable
SALES BY AUCTION
Signed Reviews.
method is that of comedy.
SCOTTISH WIDOWS' FUND
483
Saper-royal 8vo, 28. od. net; post free, 28. od.
482
SITUATIONS VACANT
Not all the breezy good-nature of Mr.
Yearly Subscriptions, commencing with any number,
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE:
108. per annum. post free.
Bouchier's Peter or the girlish charm of
TYPE-WRITERS, &c.
Miss Julia James's Periwinkle can induce
UNWIN
WILLIAMS & NORGATE, 14, Henrietta Street,
WILLIAMS & NOKGATE
480
Covent Garden, London, W. C.
2
AUTHORS' AGENTS
::
::
BLACKWOOD & SONS
:::::
:::1:::::::::::::::
PAOL
454
482
458
456
454
483
457
453
484
482
453
482
457
453
456
158
456
454
456
182
454
156
454
can do.
SHIPPING
469
181
454
458
. .
## p. 491 (#371) ############################################
No. 4410, MAY 4, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
491
was
ROBERT BROWNING
PITT AND NAPOLEON
MADAME STRINHEIL'S MEMORIES
PAGR
491
492
LANGUAGE
496
AUTOGRAPH SALE
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS
FORTHCOMING BOOKS
LITERARY GOSSIP
497
498
503
504
>
MEETINGS NEXT
505--507
507--509
PERFORMANCES NEXT WEEK
509510
. .
511-512
512
a
came
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,
CONTENTS.
O lyric Love, half angel and half bird,
hushed to sleep by his father to the
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
493 Troy.
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
THE CANON LAW IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
of the University of London, to note that mark Browning's full public recognition
FLERT STREET AND THE STRAND
496 497
the elder Browning was one of the early as a poet. The Athenceum, which had
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;
WEEK; GOSSIP
with what must have been disconcerting maturity. Some passages in ‘Paracelsus
FINE ARTS-NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS; MR. WALTER abruptness. It was in the home, in his are as fine as anything he ever wrote,
SICKERT AT THE CARFAX GALLERY; THE ROYAL
father's library, that he received his but the dramatic treatment of the story
ACADEMY ; SALES ; GOSSIP
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,
DRAMA - SHAKESPEARE AND SOME ACTORS; GOSSIP
Which passed alone with wisest ancient books,
of Browning, it is useless to ignore the
All halo-girt with fancies of my own.
much-vexed question about which
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
In the spring of 1829, when
great deal of nonsense has been talked
he
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
be hailed as great because of his ideas,
abound; there is no difficulty in finding placed before the student be crabbed
although the mode in which they are
passages to vindicate our praise. . . . To and halting. But in true poetry thought
ROBERT BROWNING.
one who sings so naturally, poetry must
be as easy as music is to a bird. ” Para-
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
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
appreciation, in his case, may be said of Dante, and series after series of Bells mark to plead, in defence of the art of
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 Athenceum 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 into touch with Browning, who was,
through these that she was first brought
The Saturday Review of November 24th,
A great man condemns the world to
a set purpose to
the task of explaining him,” has been
she writes to Mr. Boyd, “not behind in 1855, accused him of
repeated once again with regard to is said to be learned in Greek, especi jingle of Hudibrastic rhyme. " "If this
approbation. ” Moreover, " Mr. Browning be obscure, and an idiot captivity to the
Browning. And when was“ task. more ally in the dramatists. " Everyone
sort of thing be true of anything that he
conscientiously undertaken ? Critical,
knows the wonderful details of the romance
has written, it is out of accord with the
metaphysical, biographical volumes of
that followed. Life in Italy after the
root conception of poetry. In all his
Browning apologetics” constitute
literature in themselves. A society, re-
marriage in 1846 had a deep influence work, but especially in later years, the
garded with half - humorous recognition and Easter - Day' appeared in 1850,
on the poet's genius. Christmas-Eve love of dialectic, 'intellectual analysis,
by the poet, was founded in his lifetime
and Easter - Day' appeared in 1850. and brutal frankness sometimes got the
better of him.
to elucidate his works. The very phrase Mrs. Browning's appointment to
In the same year The Athenæum urged
No author who put forth such a vast
the
“ Browning student,” is significant. Who Laureateship,
then vacant through the quantity, of work as Browning did,
talks about a Tennyson student,” a
“ Matthew Arnold student” ?
death of Wordsworth. It was suggested writing for upwards of fifty years on all
Accord
that the choice of a woman would be a manner of subjects, can invariably be at
ingly his genealogy and youthful environ-
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.
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, where
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.
a
was
66
## p. 492 (#372) ############################################
492
THE ATHENÆUM
No. 4410, MAY 4, 1912
a
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.
In the essay on Pitt and Fitzwilliam d’Artois “ Monsieur. ” There is a and we would commend to his example
we are told that part of the “unique perplexing note, repeated several times, the excellent index to that collection
claim
supremacy in
the Whig See The Quarterly Review for 1912. ” compiled by Miss M. H. Roberts.
phalanx possessed by Fitzwilliam was When the book was published only one
that he was
the husband of Lady number of The Quarterly for 1912 had
Dorothy Cavendish. ” Without accepting appeared, and it contained nothing to
the suggestion of the supremacy
'" of which the note seemed to refer.
My Memoirs. By Marguerite Steinheil.
Fitzwilliam either within or without the
he The correspondence printed in the (Eveleigh Nash. )
“ phalanx," we may point out that his volume is all worth reading, and though
lady's name was neither Dorothy nor little of it relates to Napoleon, some of This unedifying work has not all the
Cavendish. She was Lady Charlotte Pon- the letters, on a large variety of other political importance which some of our
sonby, daughter of Lord Bessborough, subjects, are of great interest as throwing contemporaries have attributed to it.
and, though her mother was a Cavendish, a light on the atmosphere of the Court The first quarter of the book, which
she was not called Dorothy either. An and of the political world in Pitt's time. includes the chapters relating to the
essential quality for an expert in the Such is a letter of 1791 from Pitt to the author's connexion with the President of
political history of the reign of George III. owner of a pocket borough in Cornwall, the French Republic, Félix Faure, con-
is familiarity with Whig pedigrees, worth- recommending “an East Indian of good tains very little which is not familiar to
less though similar knowledge is in the fortune and character ” who was willing those who were acquainted with the
history of politics in our own time. to pay 3,0001. for the seat. Such are inner movement of political life in France
The memoirs of Marbot supply a facile letters from George III. to Pitt, com- at the close of the last century. Never-
opportunity for criticism to a writer who plaining in 1786 that his six daughters theless, some of the pages in this part of
knows his First Empire. One, of the have not enough money to dress upon“,
the volume are of considerable interest
periods of Napoleon's life in which we can not so much as George II. 's “ princesses to English readers. The rest of the book
follow his occupations day by day is in 1737, “ when every article of life was deals with the murder of her husband and
that of the “ Séjour à Bayonne " in 1808. cheaper than now. ”; or, in 1787, about her mother, for which the author was tried
,
If our author had minutely studied it, the debts of the Prince of Wales, deploring and acquitted.
he would not have accepted one of his association with such “a fellow as There cannot be many readers who will
Narbot's most glaring inventions. Dr. Mr. Sheridan. ” Pitt's controversy with have the patience or the curiosity to wade
the King, in 1794, about relieving the through the twenty-two later chapters for
Duke of York from his command of the the sake of the unpleasant details of the
* At the end of his (Marbot’s] ride from forces, displays some of the difficulties crime. Yet they have a certain value for
Madrid to Bayonne, when he bore the news the minister had to contend with in the students of comparative procedure. They
of the suppression of the heroic rising of the early period of the war. Another inter- not only give a complete description of a
men of Madrid on 2nd May, 1808, he was
privileged to hear”-
esting letter is from Windham to Pitt, French criminal trial in all its stages, but,
showing the pressure put upon the latter what is almost unknown in an English
and then he goes on to satirize Marbot's to help the French Royalists, in 1799, just book, they also furnish an official, verbatim
narrative of the private conversations before the coup d'état of Brumaire, which report of parts of the long interrogatory
he professed to have overheard. But changed the whole situation in France and undergone by a prisoner during the
Dr. Rose misses the chief point of Marbot's in Europe.
"instruction, or private examination,
gasconading. He accepts his most Of the essays, the most valuable is, in before committal to the assizes. Although
audacious fabrication, namely, that it our opinion, that on Pitt and the Relief the prisoner, before committal, has less
·
was he (Marbot) who“ bore the news of the Poor,' relating to distress prevalent fair-play than in England, it will be seen
of the suppression ” of the insurrection in England at the close of the eighteenth here that, under our new rule admitting
at Madrid.
The officer who carried century. In these days of State Socialism the evidence of an accused person, he or
the dispatch which decided the destiny it is interesting to study the attempts she has a better chance before a French
of the Spanish royal family was Capt. made to remedy the Elizabethan system of than before an English jury, the inter-
Danencourt, and any other fictions with poor relief and to see that in Pitt's time a rogatory by the French presiding judge
which Marbot embroidered this story are contributory scheme of Old-Age Pensions being usually less severe than the cross-
of relatively small importance.
was proposed. Of the other essays, the best examination by an English counsel for
Certain passages or incidental allusions are, we think, British Rule in Corsica 'and the prosecution. Other advantages en-
in the book suggest that the author \ Napoleon’s Conception of the Battle of ! joyed by the French prisoner, as shown
gar
, is
poleas
iteru
minte
t of a
APS
ܬܐ
olar
berdiri
ofaut
Rose says :-
66
41
Hir
lukte
她是
6
!
## p. 490 (#370) ############################################
480
No. 4409, APRIL 27, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
Τ
HOME UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY OF MODERN
KNOWLEDGE
LEATHER
CLOTH.
2
6
"such as
2
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
belief in Mr. Hoffe's rather ugly little fairy-
INotice in these columns does not preclude longer
tale. Fortunately there is one droll cha-
reviow. )
racter in the play, which Mr. Frederick Kerr
Hardy (Harold), Tak TRAGEDY OF Amy for impropriety, whose every speech, thanks
impersonates, a politician on the look-out
ROBSART, 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.
His blank verse, though resonant, melli- / does not mean that we failed to admire Mr.
than is customary on the variety stage--this
Editors :
NET.
Herbert Fisher, M. A.
fluous, and full of agreeable word-pictures, James Carew's cameo of a Yankee character.
F. B. A.
is too sedate and monotonous to kindle any
256
256
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.
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 VOLUNES 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.
Kerr (Mina), INFLUENCE OF BEN JONSON ON
Prof. W. SOMERVILLE, F. L. S.
ENGLISH COMEDY, 1598–1642.
rieux's 'Un Soir, the less said the better. 43. ENGLISH LITERATURE, MEDIÆVAL.
Prof. W. P. KER, M. A.
Its theme is the calculation of & 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. Rurs 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
KING JOHN, edited by Henry M. sprightly that they allure by their sheer particulars of the volumes published, and of a large
Write for a complete Descriptive Pamphlet containing
Belden, 1/ net.
charm.
number in active preparation.
New York, Macmillan Co.
The Introduction seems to us better than
MR. BRAM STOKER, who died on Saturday CAPTAIN CARTWRIGHT AND
the Notes,
which are too concise. Part of last at the age of 65, was a versatile
author
HIS LABRADOR JOURNAL.
the Tudor Edition.
and journalist. His weird and flamboyant
stories, of which Dracula' is the best
Edited by CHARLES WENDELL TOWNSEND, M. B.
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, arranged for
known, had a considerable vogue; but he
With an Introduction by Dr. WILFRED T. GRENFELL.
Illustrations from Old Engravings, Photographs, and
Performance by the Cambridge Reper- will be remembered mainly as the devoted
а Мар.
tory Company by Orlando Barnett, friend and assistant of Irving, of whom he
1 vol. crown 8vo, 58, net.
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
the work accomplished since February, 1911,
1878, and served him with unceasing fervour
An Investigation with the Balanco.
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. zet.
(Ready May 1.
which has produced several interesting plays. success.
The simplification of Shakespeare appears
PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNA-
to us to be rather drastic.
TO CORRESPONDENTS. -D. H. F. -T. H. D. -H. M. -
TIONAL CONFERENCE.
C. C. 8. -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.
Dramatic Gossip.
We cannot undertake to reply to inquiries concerning the
In 1 vol. sewed, 4s. net.
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.
the author and even the formula of The
Principal Contents of APRIL Number. NOW READY.
Little Damozel,' but in ‘Iinproper Peter'
THE RIGHT TO STRIKE AND LOCK-OUT. By Robert
A. Duff, D. Phil.
Mr. Monckton Hoffe has not mixed his
THE JESUS OF "Q"-the Oldest Source in the Gospels.
ingredients so adroitly as before. Perhaps
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
By George Holley Gilbert.
THE GREAT QUESTION. By William Dillon, Chicago,
his choice of setting has something to do
BRAHMA. An Account of the Central Doctrine of Hindu
with his smaller degree of success. Fantastic
Theology as understood in the East and misunderstood
in the West. By Prof. S. A. Desai, Holkar College,
situations and types seem more appropriate
Indore, Central India.
in the atmosphere of a Bohemian restaurant
BAGSTER & SONS
THE ESSENTIALS OF A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
than on a yacht moored off Cowes. The
By Principal W. M. Childs, University College,
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Reading.
strange ingenuousness of his heroine has CATALOGUES
IS CIVILISATION IN DANGER? A Reply. By Joseph
also to be taken into account. Innocence
CHATTO & WINDUS
M'Cabe.
COBDEN-SANDERSON
FRESH LIGHT ON THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM.
at the mercy of disreputable associates is EDUCATIONAL
a satisfactory enough formula for drama,
ENGLISH REVIEW
Matthew a Lucan Source. By Robinson Smith, M. A.
THE OCCULT OBSESSIONS OF SCIENCE
with
ENO'S FRUIT SALT
Descartes as an Object-Lesson. By Louis T. More,
provided the innocence be not too incredible. EXHIBITIONS
But Mr. Hoffe's heroine, after following a
INSURANCE COMPANIES
Professor of Physics, University of Cincinnati.
BUSINESS, GOODNESS, AND IMAGINATION. By
LANE
lover with the idea of being his wife in
Gerald Stanley Lee.
LECTURES . .
THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY OF RUDOLF
the sight of heaven” before she is in the low & Co.
EUCKEN. By Baron Friedrich von Hugel.
eyes of the law, exhibits in her talk an
MACMILLAN & Co.
DIVINE PROMPTINGS. By Signora Re-Bartlett.
MAGAZINES, &c.
SOCIAL SERVICE.
ignorance of life that would be surprising in
No. 3. - What Public School Men
MISCELLANEOUS
a girl of fifteen, and is hardly conceivable in
NASH
By8. P. Grundy, General Secretary, Man.
one who has earned her living as a governess.
NOTES AND QUERIES
chester City League of Help.
WITH DISCUSSIONS. SURVEY OF RECENT PHILO.
PRINTERS . .
The author has relied on sentiment in ROUTLEDGE & Sons
SOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
By Prof. G. Dawes Hicks and Dr. James Moffatt, and
handling a theme for which the suitable
SALES BY AUCTION
Signed Reviews.
method is that of comedy.
SCOTTISH WIDOWS' FUND
483
Saper-royal 8vo, 28. od. net; post free, 28. od.
482
SITUATIONS VACANT
Not all the breezy good-nature of Mr.
Yearly Subscriptions, commencing with any number,
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE:
108. per annum. post free.
Bouchier's Peter or the girlish charm of
TYPE-WRITERS, &c.
Miss Julia James's Periwinkle can induce
UNWIN
WILLIAMS & NORGATE, 14, Henrietta Street,
WILLIAMS & NOKGATE
480
Covent Garden, London, W. C.
2
AUTHORS' AGENTS
::
::
BLACKWOOD & SONS
:::::
:::1:::::::::::::::
PAOL
454
482
458
456
454
483
457
453
484
482
453
482
457
453
456
158
456
454
456
182
454
156
454
can do.
SHIPPING
469
181
454
458
. .
## p. 491 (#371) ############################################
No. 4410, MAY 4, 1912
THE ATHENÆUM
491
was
ROBERT BROWNING
PITT AND NAPOLEON
MADAME STRINHEIL'S MEMORIES
PAGR
491
492
LANGUAGE
496
AUTOGRAPH SALE
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS
FORTHCOMING BOOKS
LITERARY GOSSIP
497
498
503
504
>
MEETINGS NEXT
505--507
507--509
PERFORMANCES NEXT WEEK
509510
. .
511-512
512
a
came
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,
CONTENTS.
O lyric Love, half angel and half bird,
hushed to sleep by his father to the
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
493 Troy.
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
THE CANON LAW IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
of the University of London, to note that mark Browning's full public recognition
FLERT STREET AND THE STRAND
496 497
the elder Browning was one of the early as a poet. The Athenceum, which had
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;
WEEK; GOSSIP
with what must have been disconcerting maturity. Some passages in ‘Paracelsus
FINE ARTS-NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS; MR. WALTER abruptness. It was in the home, in his are as fine as anything he ever wrote,
SICKERT AT THE CARFAX GALLERY; THE ROYAL
father's library, that he received his but the dramatic treatment of the story
ACADEMY ; SALES ; GOSSIP
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,
DRAMA - SHAKESPEARE AND SOME ACTORS; GOSSIP
Which passed alone with wisest ancient books,
of Browning, it is useless to ignore the
All halo-girt with fancies of my own.
much-vexed question about which
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
In the spring of 1829, when
great deal of nonsense has been talked
he
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
be hailed as great because of his ideas,
abound; there is no difficulty in finding placed before the student be crabbed
although the mode in which they are
passages to vindicate our praise. . . . To and halting. But in true poetry thought
ROBERT BROWNING.
one who sings so naturally, poetry must
be as easy as music is to a bird. ” Para-
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
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
appreciation, in his case, may be said of Dante, and series after series of Bells mark to plead, in defence of the art of
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 Athenceum 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 into touch with Browning, who was,
through these that she was first brought
The Saturday Review of November 24th,
A great man condemns the world to
a set purpose to
the task of explaining him,” has been
she writes to Mr. Boyd, “not behind in 1855, accused him of
repeated once again with regard to is said to be learned in Greek, especi jingle of Hudibrastic rhyme. " "If this
approbation. ” Moreover, " Mr. Browning be obscure, and an idiot captivity to the
Browning. And when was“ task. more ally in the dramatists. " Everyone
sort of thing be true of anything that he
conscientiously undertaken ? Critical,
knows the wonderful details of the romance
has written, it is out of accord with the
metaphysical, biographical volumes of
that followed. Life in Italy after the
root conception of poetry. In all his
Browning apologetics” constitute
literature in themselves. A society, re-
marriage in 1846 had a deep influence work, but especially in later years, the
garded with half - humorous recognition and Easter - Day' appeared in 1850,
on the poet's genius. Christmas-Eve love of dialectic, 'intellectual analysis,
by the poet, was founded in his lifetime
and Easter - Day' appeared in 1850. and brutal frankness sometimes got the
better of him.
to elucidate his works. The very phrase Mrs. Browning's appointment to
In the same year The Athenæum urged
No author who put forth such a vast
the
“ Browning student,” is significant. Who Laureateship,
then vacant through the quantity, of work as Browning did,
talks about a Tennyson student,” a
“ Matthew Arnold student” ?
death of Wordsworth. It was suggested writing for upwards of fifty years on all
Accord
that the choice of a woman would be a manner of subjects, can invariably be at
ingly his genealogy and youthful environ-
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.
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, where
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.
a
was
66
## p. 492 (#372) ############################################
492
THE ATHENÆUM
No. 4410, MAY 4, 1912
a
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.
