Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

SEDAN CHAIRS . Why were sedan chairs so called ? The answer seems simple and obvious that they were named from the town of Sedan in the north of France , and this is the derivation given in most dictionaries and books of reference . But no evidence has yet been produced by any propounder of this etymology , to prove either that such chairs were first used at Sedan or that they were brought to England from that town . There is , indeed ,

practically nothing to prove any connection whatever between the chair and the place . It is not a little curious that the origin of the name of that once fashionable means of locomotion should be so obscure , while , on the surface , it appears to be so plain and simple . Sedans were first used in London by one or two private persons about the beginning of the 17 th century ; but the first person of note to use the new conveyance was the

Duke of Buckingham , the favourite of King James I ., and his son , Charles . Prince Charles on his return from his adventurous journey to Spain , is said to have brought back three curiously carved sedan chairs , a fact which rather tells against the proposed derivation from the French town . Two of these chairs he gave to Buckingham , who seems to have first used one of them when suffering from illness ; but this did not prevent the populace ,

who had no love for the Royal favourite , from grumbling indignantly at the pride of the man who employed his fellow creatures to do the service of beasts of burden . Among the State papers there is a letters-dated May , 1626 , from a Londoner , named Gabriel Browne , to a priest in Spain , which was intercepted iot political reasons , and in it the writer says : " You can hardlie believe how bitterly it has disgusted the multitude here , that being

sickly he ( the Duke of Buckingham ) suffered himself to be carried in a covered chaire upon his servants' shoulders through the streets in the daietime , between Whitehall and Denmarke House . " There is an echo of this feeling in Massinger ' s play , The Bondman , where the dramatist satirises the pride and luxury of the ladies : " For their pomp and care being borne , In triumph on men's shoulders . "

At this early period the conveyance was known only as a " covered chair , " the term " sedan " came into use a little later . It was not many years before private persons ceased to have a monopoly of these covered chairs , and chairs for hire began to ply in the public streets . The first hackney coach stand in London was set up in 16 34 , by the Strand Maypole , a few yards from Temple Bar ; and in the same year Letters Patent , dated

27 th September , were granted to Sir Sanders Duncombe , giving him the sole right and privilege for 14 years to use and let for hire , within the cities of London and Westminster , covered chairs to prevent the unnecessary use of coaches . For some mysterious reason the authorities were greatly averse to the increase of hackney coaches . Their number was strictly limited , and their use discouraged as far as possible . This policy naturally favoured the

growth of the chair system , and it was not long before the new conveyances were highly ponular and in great demand . In Duncombe's petition for the patent there is a passage which gives some very slight support to the theory that the name of the chair was derived from the town of Sedan . The applicant represents that " in many parts beyond seas people are much carried in chairs , that are covered , wherby few coaches are used amongst them . " Of course , Sir Saunders may have seen them in use at Sedan , but

this is the merest conjecture , for his allusion to " parts beyond seas " is extremely vague , nor does he mention or use the name of Sedan . A private letter of 1634 , included in the Strafford correspondence , describes Duncombe as " a traveller , now a pensioner , " and mentions that he was having 40 or 50 chairs made ready for use . An early example of the use of the name " sedan "may be found in Thirlen ' s play , " The Lady of Pleasure , " first acted in 1635 , wherein a Lady Celestina

asks" Is my sedan yet finished , And liveries for my men mutes according As I gave charge ? " It has often been said , presumably on the strength of the remark in Duncombe's application quoted above , that sedan chairs were brought to this country from France ; but , strangely enough , one or two French writers declare that they were brought to Paris from London , and the honour of

their introduction is usually accorded to the Marquis de Montbrun . The truth seems to be that sedan chairs , or chaises u-porteitses , as the French called them , appeared almost simultaneously in the two capitals , and it is hard to say which city can claim priority in their use . Probably neither borrowed from the other , but both derived the new invention from some third place , which may , or may not , have been Sedan—there is no evidence on the point . ( To be continued . )

Painters And Other Artists In The Reign Of James I.

PAINTERS AND OTHER ARTISTS IN THE REIGN OF JAMES I .

It was well for the arts that King James had no disposition to them ; he l : t them take their own course . Had he felt any inclination for them he would probably have introduced as bad a taste as he did into literature . A prince who thought puns and quibbles the perfection of eloquence , would have been charmed with the monkeys of Hemskirk , and the drunken boors A Ostade . James loved his ease and his pleasures , and hated novelties .

He gave himself up to hunting , and hunted in the most cumbrous and inconvenient of all dresses—a ruff and trouser-breeches . The nobility kept up tire magnificence they found established by Queen Elizabeth , in which predominated a want of taste rather than a bad one . In more ancient times , lire mansions of the great lords were built for defence and strength r ther than convenience . The walls thick , the windows pierced

v-here ver it was most necessary for them to look abroad , instead ° f being contrived for symmetry , or to illuminate the chambers . To that Myle succeeded the richness and delicacy of the Gothic . As this declined More the Grecian taste was established , space and vastness seem to have ti'ade their whole ideas of grandeur . The palaces erected in the reign of

I'lizabeth , by the memorable Countess of Shrewsbury , Elizabeth of Hardwicke , are exactly in this style . It is a tradition in the family of Cavendish 'hat a fortune-teller had told her that she should not die while she was tiiilding ; accordingly , she bestowed a great deal of the wealth she had obtained from three husbands in erecting large seats at Hardwicke , Chatsworth . Bolsover , and Oldcotes , also at Worksop ; and died in a hard frost ,

Painters And Other Artists In The Reign Of James I.

when the workmen could not labour . The apartments in all these are lofty and enormous , and they knew not how to finish them . Pictures , had they had good ones , would be lost in chambers of such height ; tapestry their chief moveable , was not commonly perfect enough to be real magnificence . Fretted ceilings , graceful mouldings of windows , and painted glass , the ornaments of the preceding age , were fallen into disuse . Immense

lights , composed of bad glass , in diamond panes , cast an atr of poverty on their most costly apartments . That at Hardwicke , still preserved as it was furnished for the reception and imprisonment of the Queen of Scots , is a curious picture of that age and style . Nothing can exceed the expense in the bed of state , in the hangings of the same chamber , and of the coverings for the tables . The first is cloth of gold , cloth of silver ,

velveteen of different colours , lace , fringes , and embroidery . The hangings consist of figures , large as life , representing the virtues and vices , embroidered on grounds of white and black velvet . The cloths to cast over the tables are embroidered and embossed with gold on velvets and damasks . The only moveables of any taste are the cabinets and tables themselves , carved in oak . The chimneys are wide enough for a hall or

kitchen , and over the arras are friezes of many feet deep , with miserable relievos in stucco representing huntings . There , and in all the great mansions of that age , is a gallery , remarkable only for its extent . That at Hardwicke is of 60 yards . James built no palace himself . Those erected by the nobles in his reign are much like what have been described . Towards

the end of that monarch's reign genius was called out , and appeared . The magnificent temper or taste of the Duke of Buckingham led him to collect pictures , and pointed out the study of them to Prince Charles . Rubens came over ; Inigo Jones arose , and architecture broke forth in all the lustre and purity of Rome and Athens . ( To be continued . )

Miss Florence Nightingale.

MISS FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE .

The direful days of the Crimean War were comparatively few when newspaper rumours of commissariat and hospital mismanagement were followed by the terrible truth of the breakdown . A cry for help was responded to with a splendid generosity bv all classes of the people . By none more so than by Miss Florence Nightingale , who , through her wonderful sympathy with suffering of every kind , and the admirable

training she had received , was eminently qualified to head the philanthropic movement . She was not a woman of strong physique , but she had a powerful will , and a great capacity for work . In 1851 she entered on a regular course of training as a voluntary nurse in the Kaiserworth Hospital , on the Rhine , Altogether she served a term of eight or 10 years ' apprenticeship to the business of nursing . In the Crimean War came the

great opportunity of her life . She offered her valuable services at this juncture , which were at once most gratefully accepted . She took the charge and direction of the nursing company , which included Lady Maria Forester and other ladies of rank and influence . From some hundreds of applicants , volunteers from the higher ranks , gentlewomen accustomed to ease and luxury , she selected 37 , including 12 nuns from the Convent of Norwood ,

under the charge ot their Superior . Miss Nightingale evinced in her public duty no preference for one Church over another . When certain strict Protestants questioned the wisdom of asking Catholic sisters to join her , she said , in her quiet resolute way , " We are going to nurse the sick and wounded , not to make proselytes of our patients . " The journey of Miss Nightingale and her companions through France partook of the nature of a

royal progress . Cheered on their vmy with an enthusiasm that knew no bounds , they arrived at Scutari in time to receive the wounded from Inkerman . It is not necessary to describe the great and blessed work which she and her colleagues accomplished . The story will ever live in the grateful remembrance of our country . Through the present period of national sorrow it is appropriate we should record our late beloved Queen ' s

womanly appreciation of the noble work in which Miss Ni ghtingale was engaged . The Queen , her daughters , and her ladies , spent much of their time in knitting and sewing garments for the soldiers . As a personal gift , her Majesty sent Miss Nightingale a jewel to be worn as a brooch—a " St . Georges Cross " of exquisite design and of costly gems , bearing the legend , " Blessed are the merciful . "

General Notes.

GENERAL NOTES .

One of the greatest of Italian composers , Guiseppe Verdi , passed peacefully away on Sunday , the 27 th ult ., in his 89 th year . All Ital y mourns his death , and in every civilised part of the world wide regret is expressed . Most musicians agree that Verdi ' s best work was done when he was an old

man—notably in " Otello , " first produced in 18 S 7 , and in " Falstaff , " the latter being considered his finest opera . By the average musical public his name will probably be more usually connected with the airs from " Rigoletto , " "Un Ballo in Maschera , " " Ai'da , " " II Traviata , " and "IlTrovatore , " which were numbered among his earlier compositions .

In spite of numerous reports to the contrary , the Crystal Palace concerts are to be resumed on the 16 th instant . The veteran Mr . Manns will again be found at the head of his famous orchestra , and the season will ast until Easter .

To The King.

TO THE KING .

We would to thee , Sire , loyal greetings tend , For Masons' hearts are staunch and true and leal ; Though Ruler now , thou'rt still the Craftsman ' s Friend ) The highest worker for the common weal . We pray long years await thee full of joy ; We pray Heaven's rays may ever on thee shine , With nought to mar , to hinder , or destroy The blessings of Our Architect Divine . That He will bless thee , 0 we fervent pray ;

That He will guard thee , O we fondly hope ; And , watching o'er thee each returning day , Will give thee Strength with all thy cares to cope . And keep beneath the shadow of His wing Our Empire ' s Lord—our Brother and our King ! n „ . CHAS . F . FORSHAW , LL . D , Bradford ' '