Sonnets Of The Greek Mythology, No. 5

Sonnets of the Greek Mythology , No . 5

TO EUTERPE . rrtHOU ail sustaining ruler of the bard , I Guide my numb hand and give it will and power To glide along . 'Freshed by thy dewy shower Nought can its flowing suppleness retard . 'Neath thy bewitching thraldom I would bend , So that my song can issue freely forth . Knowing no boundary , delay or end

Throughout tha wide expanse of all the earth . Prolong my verse to music silvery , Weed all its feebleness , and oast aside All that thou would ' st not have with thee abide , All but the purest of my minstrelsy ; So that though weak , I still have strength to stray Along the groves of each Parnassian way .

GHAS . F . FORSHAW , M . A . Bradford .

Books Of The Day.

Books of the Day .

Books , Music , & c . intended for review , should be addressed to the Editor of the Freemason ' s Chronicle , at Fleet Works , Hew Barnet . A History of Socialism . By Thomas Kirkup . New edition , revised and enlarged ( 7 s 6 d ) . —Adam and Charles Black . WE commend this volume to many worthies who regard socialism as a minor movement brought forward from time to time by political fanatics . That the movement is pervasive and prominent is shown clearly in this work .

Mr . Kirkup chose , we think wisely , to adopt what we may call the biographical method . After a carefully weighed introduction , which for breadth of treatment and critical acumen is worthy of Mr . Morley ' s introduction to his " Voltaire , " Mr . Kirkup proceeds , inter alia , to narrate the leading incidents in the lives of St . Simon , Fourier , Louis Blanc , Proudhon , Lassalle , Bodbertus , and Karl Marx , and to estimate their influence upon the socialism of their respective eras . His paragraphs upon .

Lassalle and Karl Mars are masterly ; and the chapters on •' German Social Democracy" and "Anarchism" evince a grasp of subject only too rare in works on political science or economics . We do not see eye to eye with the author on many points , but will admit that his book has induced us to modify some of our opinions . We have noticed , too , remarks which suggest criticism ; or rather , the general trend of Mr . Kirkup ' s summaries is , we think , open to some objection . For instance , it is now acknowledged that

the world is governed by a law which asserts itself at all times and in all places—the law of the survival of the fittest . The very wording of the Duke of Argyle's substitutionary phrase " the survival of the fittest to survive " shows the plausibility of the law . But in face of this law how can it ever come about that man shall live otherwise than by strenuous competition with his fellow man ? We fail to see that Mr . Kirkup or any other writer with

whose works we are familiar has answered this question adequately . We suggest , too , as a corrective to certain doctrines touched upon in this book , a careful perusal of that able paper by Huxley , entitled " Capital , the mother of Labour . " But we will not nullify our commendation . The " History of Socialism " is from the hand of an able exponent of the subject . We tender him our best thanks for this enlarged edition of his work .

The Sun-Children's Budget . Edited by Phoebe Allen and Dr . Henry W . Godfray ( 6 d quarterly ) . Vol . I . —Wells Gardner , Barton and Co . THIS is a delightful volume for a leisure hour . Though intended for young folk , many older ones might glean a rich harvest from its pages . It is indeed a botanical budget of conspicuous merit . Dr . Hugh Macmillan , whose name at the head of an article is always welcome , pleads eloquently for an adequate culture of the faculty of observation , and points out that a purely

literary education is a very imperfect one . Miss Allen , in " The Elder-Tree Club , " has given us a charming causerie on trees . She shows deep knowledge both of the scientific and literary aspects of her subject . She may , we think , be justly described as a botanical Sainte Beuve . But perhaps most readers will regard the " Oak-tree ' s Story , " from the pen of Mr . Argyll Saxby , as the best contribution to this volume . It is clever as a story by Mr . Lang ; . delightfully simple as Southey's tale of the three bears ; suggestive as

Addison s transformations of Pug the monkey , or adventures of a shilling . " A Yellow Primrose , " by Dr . Eagar , is a careful study , and doubtless many Peter Bells who read it will learn as wholesome a lesson as did those gentlemen who listened , spell-bound , as Darwin read his paper on the primrose . This book deserves a large circulation , and we shall be much surprised if we do not see it in many hands . There are great difficulties to be overcome before such a work can be produced . It is one thing to write for students presumably

interested in your subject ; but to create an interest in a science by your presentation of its elements is quite another story . That the latter object has been achieved iu this volume is abundantly evident ; for the science of botany is here expounded from so many standpoints that readers who care not for any particular paper have only to follow Dan Chaucer ' s advice by turning the page and reading another tale . We have been amused by the quotations

from the poets which are here set out , the . reader being requested tostata the author of each . No doubt even children very superficially acquainted with the English Poets could in some cases name the authors instantly ; to name them all would tax the knowledge of Prof . Dowden , or the memory of Porson . We hope the second volume of the "Sun-Children ' s Budget" may be as good as the first .

Racing . B y W . A . C . Blew , M . A . ( 3 s 6 d ) . —E . A . Everett and Co . A PLEASANT , chatty book , dealing with a very popular subject . We will suggest as an alternative title " The Romance of the Turf . " Here we read of many races , " classic " and otherwise , from the traditionary runs with real Arabs in Yorkshire , about 210 A . D ., to the sensational defeat of " Boberfc

the Devil , " by " Bend Or , " in 1880 , and the victory of " Persimmon , " in 1896 . Here , too , is much about that grand horse " Ormonde " whose tail , curiously enough , was placed some distance along his spine , and who was bought by a syndicate from M . Boreau for £ 30 , 000 ! Two anecdotes we will quote as exceptionally characteristic . We are told that Lord Glasgow offered to bet Lord Geo . Bcntinck £ 90 , 000 to £ 30 , 000 against " Gaper " for the Derby

Books Of The Day.

of 1843 ; the bet was not taken . Baron Hirsch , being a Jew , was blackballed for the French Jockey Club ; but he subsequently bought tha ground upon which the Club stands , and the members were told that they were only tenants at his will . We are prepared to back this book for a place in the " Success " Stakes .

Wireless Telegraphy popularly explained . By Bichard Kerr , F . G . S . With a preface by Sir W . H . Preece , K . C . B ., F . R . S . New and revised ( fourth ) edition ( Is ) . —Seeley and Co ., Limited . WE are not surprised that this little book has reached a fourth edition . So many startling discoveries are announced from time to time that bu » y folk are glad to learn what is needful concerning them in as concise a manner

as possible . This is particularly the case in regard to the subject of wireless telegraphy . At present in its tentative and experimental stage , it is impossible to say much as to future developments . What is accurately known concerning wireless telegraphy is ably condensed in the chapter entitled " Hertzian Wave Experiments , " and the perusal of this and of the short chapter on " Eecent Achievements " suffices to show that this remarkable

discovery has , at any rate , very far-reaching possibilities . Whether these possibilities can be fully realised depends upon contingencies which we will not attempt to discuss . The raising of the question , in the second chapter , as to whether there is " anything solid " will startle readers who are conversant only with the physics of even twenty years ago . Verily in science , as in literature , the prospect widens as we walk . " Hills peep o ' er hills , and Alps on Alps arise . "

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Just published , Crown 8 vo ., Cloth , 5 s . MILITARY LODGES . The Apron and the Sword , or Freemasonry under Arms ; being an account of Lodges in Regiments and Ships of War , and of famous soldiers and sailors ( of all countries ) , who have belonged to the Society , together with biographies of distinguished Military and Naval Brethren , and anecdotes showing the influence of Masonry in warfare . By Robert Freke Gould ( late 31 st Foot , barrister-at-law ) Past Senior Grand Deacon of England , P . M . Nos . 92 and 2076 London , 153 Gibraltar , 570 Shanghai , and 743 1 st Batt . East Surrey Regiment , & c . Author of " The History of Freemasonry , " and other Works . Gale and Polden , Ltd ., 2 Amen Corner , London ; and Aldershot .

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Bro . Charles Townley , better known in the dramatic world as Geoffrey Thorn , the writer of innumerable pantomimes , comic songs , and sketches , will , on Tuesday , 6 th inst ., be installed as W . M . of the Savage Club Lodge , in

succession to Bro . Eugene Barnett , who will undertake the ceremony necessary to the occasion . A big meeting is expected , and that at the subsequent banquet a fine programme will be gone through goes without saying . The Lodge will be opened in Freemasons' Hall at 4 p . m .

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SPIERS.POHD's STORES ( No Tickets Required ) QUEEN VICTORIA STREET , E . G ., Opposite St . Paul ' s Station ( L . C . & D . Rly . ) . PRICE BOOK ( 1 , 000 pages ) , illustrated , free on application . FREE DELIVERY IN SUBURBS b 3 ? our ovOn Vans . Liberal terms for Country ? Orders , FOR FULL DETAILS SEE PRICE BOOK .