Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended , for Keview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . THE QUARTERLIES .
THERE are two or three articles in the Quarterly which we think our readers will peruse with more than the ordinary amount of pleasure . The subject of Ballooning , for instance , is one which invariably exerts a most fascinating influence . A balloon ascent at one of our places of public entertainments is pretty sure to draw more than the average number of attendants . And if so , it is not surprising that a
carefully prepared essay on " Balloons and Voyages in the air ?" should be likely to prove popular with tho readers of the Quarterly . The writer traces Ballooning from the very earliest efforts of the two Montgolfiers and M . Charles , down to the more elaborate experiments of our own Mr . Coxwell and the attempts to utilise balloons during the Franco-German war . Having done this , ho then notes the
special difficulties against which aeronauts have hitherto in vain contended in guiding the aerial machine . They can rise or fall at will , but they cannot guide it at will , and till this difficulty is solved voyaging in the air will be attended with extreme peril . All the most important experiments in directing balloons are mentioned , particular a * ress being laid on those of M . Giffard and the more familiar M .
Dupuy de Lome . This article is followed by one on " The ' Theatre Francais . " This too , chiefly , is historical , the writer taking us back to the reign of Louis le Grand , when there existed at Paris several theatrical companies , ultimately , in 1680 , amalgamated into one body under the name of " Comcdiens du Roi . " Thence up to the present p ' riod the progress of the French Drama is skilfully traced to all the
xa 'St eminent writers , such as Lorneille , Racine , Beaumarchais , Moliere , and actors such as Floridor , Madame Champmezle , Baron , Lecouvrenr , Le Kain , Mdlle . Clairon , Mdllo . Mars , Mdlle . Rachel , and others beinc introduced , and their influence and style discussed at considerable length and with groat judgment . That the English theatrical world will derive both pleasure and instruction from this paper seems
unquestionable . The visits to London recently of certain members of the Comedie Francaise , have created no small amount of enthusiasm for the " French plays , " and the French actors who have come over , and performed to densely crowded houses , cannot but feel flattered at the reception they have experienced from their English audiences . Next conies a capital essay ou " Falcom-y in the British Isles . " There
is still , we believe , attached to the Court an Hereditary Grand Falconer—our respected Bro . the Duke of St . Albans , Prov . G . M . for Lincolnshire , but Falconry , as a sport , has almost , if not entirely , died out . Yet it was held in high esteem among princes and nobles in tho olden time , and a few there are who practise it even now iu certain localities , with a considerable amount of success . " Tho Memoirs of Count de Segur , " which tell us more about Napoleon than we have
known hitherto , give us also an insight into his character , which , numerous as are our histories of the First Emperor , cannot , from the close intimacy with him of the Count , to otherwise than admirable . This , also , we commend to the notice of our readers , as a paper in every way worthy of their attention . In fact , the whole number is excellent , but the articles we have named possess a more general interest .
In the Edinburgh we have noted specially the paper headed "Outhe Physiological Influence of Alcohol . " The bases of this essay are b y such well known authorities as Dr . llichardsou , Dr . Thudicum , Dr . August Dupro , and Dr . Austie . The baneful influence of alcohol , when imbibed in excessive quantities , on the human system is pointed out , and especially on tho brain and softer tissues of the bodv . In
the course of this interesting article we noted several important facts , and one or two singular illustrations mentioned by Dr . Anstie of the influence of alcohol for good . One is the case of an old soldier " who had lived for twenty years upon a diet composed of a bottle of unsweetened gin , and ' ono small finger-length of toasted bread' per day , and who maintained the structures of his body for this long
period upon that very remarkable liquid . " The other is that of a young man eighteen years of age , so reduced by an attack of acute rheumatism that he could retain no food of any kind upon his stomach . "Ho was consequently maintained for several days upon an allowance of twelve ounces of water and twelve ounces of gin per day . His recovery under this treatment was very rapid and complete , and
almost without any trace of the emaciation and wasting that ordinarily follows upon such a disease . " The " life and works of Thorvaldsen" form the subject of tho first article in the number , and this , again , is sure to prove attractive to the general bulk of our readers , who are familiar enough , no doubt , with the name of the great Danish sculptor , even though they may have had no opportunity of
studying any of his chefd ' eeuvres . Another highly valuable contribution is a notice of certain works by " Sir H . S . Maine on Early Institutions , " in which the Irish are shown to be clearly allied to the Aryans , and many points of similarity between Irish aud Aryan customs aro noted . After quoting Sir H . Maine ' s description of an Irish " Sept " from the Brehon Tracts , the writer remarks , " The primary conception of
the ' Sept , ' therefore , was that of a group connected by blood , and of a primitive Aryan type ; but gradually acquiring tho proprietary rigbts which seem to bo the first signs of progress , though they wore still overshadowed and controlled by ideas of moie ancient modes of ownership once dominant among Aryan races . As in the case , however , of the ' Gens' and the ' House , ' other elements besides the related kinsmen had entered , as wo have seen , the ' Sept : ' and it
contained classes , which , though regarded as component parts of the collective ' Family , ' were , nevertheless , in various degrees of dependence . Celtic Ireland certainly abounded in slaves ; and in the lauded arrangements of the ' Sept' we find orders of free aud servile clansmen , known in the Brehon Tracts by the curious names of ' Ceile , ' ' Saer-stock , ' ' Daer-stock , ' and 'Fuidhir' tenants , and evidently analogous in aoras respects to the fre . em . ea aud villeins of the feudal
Reviews.
manor . In addition , the power of the chief of the' Sept' had a constant tendency to extend itself , and to supplant every other kind of authority ; we see the chief absolute in his own domain , encroaching on the common lands of the ' Sept , ' and increasing the number of ' Fuidhir' vassals ; and here , again , we perceive an approach to tho peculiarities of the feudal system . It is evident , therefore , that the
' Sept' bore marks , in some of its features , to what we can only call tho growth and progress of Feudalisation , and these small units of Celtic society at once disclosed what is most archaic in tho venerable forms of Aryan life , and tho effects of comparatively modern changes . " A notice of Mr . Carlyle ' s "Early Kings of Norway , "
which originally appeared in Eraser , and the closing article on tho relations between "England and Russia in the East , " based on certain papers by that eminent geographer , Sir Henry Rawiinson , together with an educational paper , entitled "Education of the children of the State . " are also to be commended .
The St . James ' s Holiday Annual for 1875 includes a number of highly interesting contributions , the majority of which will enable the reader to spend a leisure hour or two very agreeably . Not tho least attractive of theso is the Editor ' s paper on "North Polar Exploration . " The subject has been handled in many periodicals , but in none more successfully than in this number of the St . James ' s .
Moreover , Mr . Mayer has done his best to give an air of novelty to a theme which has already passed through at least a score of variations , by dwelling more in detail on some of the more recent expeditions , and notably on that of the Polaris . There is , perhaps , but little to say that is new about " The Land of Windmills , " or , in other words , about Holland , but Mr . Buckland has made his paper readable . We
think he might have paid '» 3 S attention to the pictures and museums , and more to the many great public works which have been undertaken at sundry times , such , for instance , as the draining of the Haarlem Lake , the North Holland Canal , & c , & c . The former are noticed at length in the guide books , but the latter fare a little worse in this respect , and receive therefore less than their duo share of
attention from the British travelling public . Yet they are stupendous undertakings , worthy of tho people who have set a limit to the encroachments of the sea . Of the other contents , we would call attention to the story by Mr . Thos . Carlisle , " The Convict Cousin , " with which tho number opens . Out of every day materials , Joe Dyde , George andhis Wife , and Major Ledbitter , who are personages familiar
enough to all readers of fiction , Mr . Carlisle has woven a capital little story , and in doing so has showu that he possesses more than the average amount of constructive ability . His dialogue , too , is well and smartly written , while the denouement when the Major ' s "little game" has been played out unsuccessfully , is quite dramatic in its effect . The rest of the papers are , pretty well ou a par with those wo have referred to , and most of the illustrations are well drawn .
In the Masonic Beeiew ( Cincinnati , Ohio ) we have noted especially an admirably written extract from the " address of C . H . Kingston , " R . E . G . C . of Pennsylvania , to the Grand Commandery , and a paper by Bro . Cornelius Moore , the editor , on " Tho Charges of a Freemason . " In both is visible the earnest spirit of a genuine Mason , aud our readers cannot fail to profit by the advice so earnestly given by the writer . One other article well deserves to be read , and that is a sketch of " Mozart as a Freemason . "
Among the contributors to the New England Freemason tor May last , the name of OUP , at all events , will be familiar to our readers , that of Bro . Hughau ; who supplements a former sketch of tho Old Constitutions of England , by M . W . Bro . J . T . Heard , which had appeared in a previous number of this periodical , with some very interesting details about editions which Bro . Heard had passed over
in silence . There is also the first of a series of articles on the " Old Halls in London associated with Masonry , " Stationers' Hall being the subject of the present account . " Italian Freemasonry " is als ;> passed under review , the materials being derived for the most part from certain of tho London dailies . The fourth number of the Canadian Masonic News is fully equal
to its predecessors , as maybe judged from ono of its articles , which we recently quoted in extenso . There is also an account of the " Organisation of the Grand Lodgo of Manitoba A . F . and A . M ., " this having been found necessary in consequence of the distance of tho Manitoba Lodges from the meetings of Grand Lodge of Canada . Delegates from the Lodge attended at Winnipeg ou 12 th May , and after a
variety of necessary resolutions had been agreed to unanimously , the election of Grand Officers for 1875-6 was proceeded with , M . W . Bro . Rev . Dr . Clarke , Winnipeg , Past Gr . Chaplain , G . L . of Quebec , being elected G . M ., R . W . Bro . Hon . W . N . Kennedy , Winnipeg , D . G . M ., and E . W . Bros . Jas . Henderson , Winnipeg , and S . L . Bcdsnn , Stone Fort , as G . Senior and Junior Wardens respectively . R . W . Bro . John
Kennedy was chosen Grand Treasurer , aud R . W . Bro . John H . Bell , Winnipeg , as Grand Secretary . This month ' s number of Charing Cross contains tho introduction and Chapter I . of a new story by G . Somers Bellamy , entitled " Two Wedding Rings , " a prettily told story by Frank , and boa ing tho titlo of " How Kato Challenger was Wooed and Won , " anrl some
good musical and dramatic criticism . There is too " Proven , " a tale iu two parts , which deserves to bo read . The London and Brighton contains a very good programme , many of tho contributions being very well written , and somo highly interesting . Such arc * 'Ulster Folk Lore , " " Mesmerism , a Fabulous Legend , " by Clarissa Arlo , and a neat sot of verses ' A Fragment , "
by Mrs . Ritldell . Nor must we overlook " A Hard Run , and what came of if , " which will servo admirably to wile away half-an-honr ' s leisure . Indeed , both this and tho preceding magazine , the Charing Cross , contain somo excellent light reading , the fiction being on a level with the average of magazine tales .
We have received also , but somewhat lute , the July number of Le Monde Ma / piiniqite , which , from the brief glance we have been able to give it , appears to be quite on a par with its usual high standard of merit . We have marked one or two extracts for quotation next week ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended , for Keview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . THE QUARTERLIES .
THERE are two or three articles in the Quarterly which we think our readers will peruse with more than the ordinary amount of pleasure . The subject of Ballooning , for instance , is one which invariably exerts a most fascinating influence . A balloon ascent at one of our places of public entertainments is pretty sure to draw more than the average number of attendants . And if so , it is not surprising that a
carefully prepared essay on " Balloons and Voyages in the air ?" should be likely to prove popular with tho readers of the Quarterly . The writer traces Ballooning from the very earliest efforts of the two Montgolfiers and M . Charles , down to the more elaborate experiments of our own Mr . Coxwell and the attempts to utilise balloons during the Franco-German war . Having done this , ho then notes the
special difficulties against which aeronauts have hitherto in vain contended in guiding the aerial machine . They can rise or fall at will , but they cannot guide it at will , and till this difficulty is solved voyaging in the air will be attended with extreme peril . All the most important experiments in directing balloons are mentioned , particular a * ress being laid on those of M . Giffard and the more familiar M .
Dupuy de Lome . This article is followed by one on " The ' Theatre Francais . " This too , chiefly , is historical , the writer taking us back to the reign of Louis le Grand , when there existed at Paris several theatrical companies , ultimately , in 1680 , amalgamated into one body under the name of " Comcdiens du Roi . " Thence up to the present p ' riod the progress of the French Drama is skilfully traced to all the
xa 'St eminent writers , such as Lorneille , Racine , Beaumarchais , Moliere , and actors such as Floridor , Madame Champmezle , Baron , Lecouvrenr , Le Kain , Mdlle . Clairon , Mdllo . Mars , Mdlle . Rachel , and others beinc introduced , and their influence and style discussed at considerable length and with groat judgment . That the English theatrical world will derive both pleasure and instruction from this paper seems
unquestionable . The visits to London recently of certain members of the Comedie Francaise , have created no small amount of enthusiasm for the " French plays , " and the French actors who have come over , and performed to densely crowded houses , cannot but feel flattered at the reception they have experienced from their English audiences . Next conies a capital essay ou " Falcom-y in the British Isles . " There
is still , we believe , attached to the Court an Hereditary Grand Falconer—our respected Bro . the Duke of St . Albans , Prov . G . M . for Lincolnshire , but Falconry , as a sport , has almost , if not entirely , died out . Yet it was held in high esteem among princes and nobles in tho olden time , and a few there are who practise it even now iu certain localities , with a considerable amount of success . " Tho Memoirs of Count de Segur , " which tell us more about Napoleon than we have
known hitherto , give us also an insight into his character , which , numerous as are our histories of the First Emperor , cannot , from the close intimacy with him of the Count , to otherwise than admirable . This , also , we commend to the notice of our readers , as a paper in every way worthy of their attention . In fact , the whole number is excellent , but the articles we have named possess a more general interest .
In the Edinburgh we have noted specially the paper headed "Outhe Physiological Influence of Alcohol . " The bases of this essay are b y such well known authorities as Dr . llichardsou , Dr . Thudicum , Dr . August Dupro , and Dr . Austie . The baneful influence of alcohol , when imbibed in excessive quantities , on the human system is pointed out , and especially on tho brain and softer tissues of the bodv . In
the course of this interesting article we noted several important facts , and one or two singular illustrations mentioned by Dr . Anstie of the influence of alcohol for good . One is the case of an old soldier " who had lived for twenty years upon a diet composed of a bottle of unsweetened gin , and ' ono small finger-length of toasted bread' per day , and who maintained the structures of his body for this long
period upon that very remarkable liquid . " The other is that of a young man eighteen years of age , so reduced by an attack of acute rheumatism that he could retain no food of any kind upon his stomach . "Ho was consequently maintained for several days upon an allowance of twelve ounces of water and twelve ounces of gin per day . His recovery under this treatment was very rapid and complete , and
almost without any trace of the emaciation and wasting that ordinarily follows upon such a disease . " The " life and works of Thorvaldsen" form the subject of tho first article in the number , and this , again , is sure to prove attractive to the general bulk of our readers , who are familiar enough , no doubt , with the name of the great Danish sculptor , even though they may have had no opportunity of
studying any of his chefd ' eeuvres . Another highly valuable contribution is a notice of certain works by " Sir H . S . Maine on Early Institutions , " in which the Irish are shown to be clearly allied to the Aryans , and many points of similarity between Irish aud Aryan customs aro noted . After quoting Sir H . Maine ' s description of an Irish " Sept " from the Brehon Tracts , the writer remarks , " The primary conception of
the ' Sept , ' therefore , was that of a group connected by blood , and of a primitive Aryan type ; but gradually acquiring tho proprietary rigbts which seem to bo the first signs of progress , though they wore still overshadowed and controlled by ideas of moie ancient modes of ownership once dominant among Aryan races . As in the case , however , of the ' Gens' and the ' House , ' other elements besides the related kinsmen had entered , as wo have seen , the ' Sept : ' and it
contained classes , which , though regarded as component parts of the collective ' Family , ' were , nevertheless , in various degrees of dependence . Celtic Ireland certainly abounded in slaves ; and in the lauded arrangements of the ' Sept' we find orders of free aud servile clansmen , known in the Brehon Tracts by the curious names of ' Ceile , ' ' Saer-stock , ' ' Daer-stock , ' and 'Fuidhir' tenants , and evidently analogous in aoras respects to the fre . em . ea aud villeins of the feudal
Reviews.
manor . In addition , the power of the chief of the' Sept' had a constant tendency to extend itself , and to supplant every other kind of authority ; we see the chief absolute in his own domain , encroaching on the common lands of the ' Sept , ' and increasing the number of ' Fuidhir' vassals ; and here , again , we perceive an approach to tho peculiarities of the feudal system . It is evident , therefore , that the
' Sept' bore marks , in some of its features , to what we can only call tho growth and progress of Feudalisation , and these small units of Celtic society at once disclosed what is most archaic in tho venerable forms of Aryan life , and tho effects of comparatively modern changes . " A notice of Mr . Carlyle ' s "Early Kings of Norway , "
which originally appeared in Eraser , and the closing article on tho relations between "England and Russia in the East , " based on certain papers by that eminent geographer , Sir Henry Rawiinson , together with an educational paper , entitled "Education of the children of the State . " are also to be commended .
The St . James ' s Holiday Annual for 1875 includes a number of highly interesting contributions , the majority of which will enable the reader to spend a leisure hour or two very agreeably . Not tho least attractive of theso is the Editor ' s paper on "North Polar Exploration . " The subject has been handled in many periodicals , but in none more successfully than in this number of the St . James ' s .
Moreover , Mr . Mayer has done his best to give an air of novelty to a theme which has already passed through at least a score of variations , by dwelling more in detail on some of the more recent expeditions , and notably on that of the Polaris . There is , perhaps , but little to say that is new about " The Land of Windmills , " or , in other words , about Holland , but Mr . Buckland has made his paper readable . We
think he might have paid '» 3 S attention to the pictures and museums , and more to the many great public works which have been undertaken at sundry times , such , for instance , as the draining of the Haarlem Lake , the North Holland Canal , & c , & c . The former are noticed at length in the guide books , but the latter fare a little worse in this respect , and receive therefore less than their duo share of
attention from the British travelling public . Yet they are stupendous undertakings , worthy of tho people who have set a limit to the encroachments of the sea . Of the other contents , we would call attention to the story by Mr . Thos . Carlisle , " The Convict Cousin , " with which tho number opens . Out of every day materials , Joe Dyde , George andhis Wife , and Major Ledbitter , who are personages familiar
enough to all readers of fiction , Mr . Carlisle has woven a capital little story , and in doing so has showu that he possesses more than the average amount of constructive ability . His dialogue , too , is well and smartly written , while the denouement when the Major ' s "little game" has been played out unsuccessfully , is quite dramatic in its effect . The rest of the papers are , pretty well ou a par with those wo have referred to , and most of the illustrations are well drawn .
In the Masonic Beeiew ( Cincinnati , Ohio ) we have noted especially an admirably written extract from the " address of C . H . Kingston , " R . E . G . C . of Pennsylvania , to the Grand Commandery , and a paper by Bro . Cornelius Moore , the editor , on " Tho Charges of a Freemason . " In both is visible the earnest spirit of a genuine Mason , aud our readers cannot fail to profit by the advice so earnestly given by the writer . One other article well deserves to be read , and that is a sketch of " Mozart as a Freemason . "
Among the contributors to the New England Freemason tor May last , the name of OUP , at all events , will be familiar to our readers , that of Bro . Hughau ; who supplements a former sketch of tho Old Constitutions of England , by M . W . Bro . J . T . Heard , which had appeared in a previous number of this periodical , with some very interesting details about editions which Bro . Heard had passed over
in silence . There is also the first of a series of articles on the " Old Halls in London associated with Masonry , " Stationers' Hall being the subject of the present account . " Italian Freemasonry " is als ;> passed under review , the materials being derived for the most part from certain of tho London dailies . The fourth number of the Canadian Masonic News is fully equal
to its predecessors , as maybe judged from ono of its articles , which we recently quoted in extenso . There is also an account of the " Organisation of the Grand Lodgo of Manitoba A . F . and A . M ., " this having been found necessary in consequence of the distance of tho Manitoba Lodges from the meetings of Grand Lodge of Canada . Delegates from the Lodge attended at Winnipeg ou 12 th May , and after a
variety of necessary resolutions had been agreed to unanimously , the election of Grand Officers for 1875-6 was proceeded with , M . W . Bro . Rev . Dr . Clarke , Winnipeg , Past Gr . Chaplain , G . L . of Quebec , being elected G . M ., R . W . Bro . Hon . W . N . Kennedy , Winnipeg , D . G . M ., and E . W . Bros . Jas . Henderson , Winnipeg , and S . L . Bcdsnn , Stone Fort , as G . Senior and Junior Wardens respectively . R . W . Bro . John
Kennedy was chosen Grand Treasurer , aud R . W . Bro . John H . Bell , Winnipeg , as Grand Secretary . This month ' s number of Charing Cross contains tho introduction and Chapter I . of a new story by G . Somers Bellamy , entitled " Two Wedding Rings , " a prettily told story by Frank , and boa ing tho titlo of " How Kato Challenger was Wooed and Won , " anrl some
good musical and dramatic criticism . There is too " Proven , " a tale iu two parts , which deserves to bo read . The London and Brighton contains a very good programme , many of tho contributions being very well written , and somo highly interesting . Such arc * 'Ulster Folk Lore , " " Mesmerism , a Fabulous Legend , " by Clarissa Arlo , and a neat sot of verses ' A Fragment , "
by Mrs . Ritldell . Nor must we overlook " A Hard Run , and what came of if , " which will servo admirably to wile away half-an-honr ' s leisure . Indeed , both this and tho preceding magazine , the Charing Cross , contain somo excellent light reading , the fiction being on a level with the average of magazine tales .
We have received also , but somewhat lute , the July number of Le Monde Ma / piiniqite , which , from the brief glance we have been able to give it , appears to be quite on a par with its usual high standard of merit . We have marked one or two extracts for quotation next week ,