9* s. ii. DEC. 31, '98.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
539
NOTES ON BOOKS, &c,
The Last Days of Percy By sshe Shelley. ByD. Guido
Biagi. (Fisher Unwin.)
To Dr. Biagi the student and lover of Shelley indebted for a book that he will ever prize and will put in an honoured place in his sanctum. From official Italian documents preserved in the archives of Florence, Leghorn, and Lucca, he has printed the papers authorizing the disinterment, from the seaside tombs in which they were hastily placed after the sea had washed up her prey, of the bodies of Shelley and Capt. Williams, and other entries bearing upon their fate. He has also interviewed various that is to say eight witnesses of the cremation of Shelley's remains. The information thus obtained he enshrines in a volume depicting for the first time the exact particulars of Shelley's tragic fate. The book was published in Italian so early as 1892, and has been used by Dr. Garnett in his life of Shelley in the 'Dictionary of National Biography.' It corrects in some respects the characteristically fervid account of Trelawny, and will be warmly welcomed in its English dress, in which, however, we recognize one or two errors of no special importance. A sensible addition is made to its value in the portraits and other illustrations, which are numerous. These include, in addition to two portraits of Shelley from the Bodleian, like- nesses of Jane Williams by Clint, of E. E. Williams by himself ; of Mary Wollstonecraft, Leigh Hunt, and Schenley ; views of the Casa Magna, the yachts Bolivar and Don Juan, the pine wood at Viareggio, and other spots sacred to Shelley; pictures of Shelley's watch, the guitar he gave to Mrs. Williams, the Sophocles taken from his dead hand, and other objects.
The Bayeux Tapestry : a History and Description.
By Frank Rede Fowke. (Bell & Sons.) IN adding to their attractive "Ex-Libris Series" an illustrated account of the famous Bayeux tapestry, Messrs. Bell & Sons have turned to the work of our whilom contributor Mr. Frank Rede Fowke. His description of the Bayeux tapestry, which received the signal honour of being adopted as the basis of the ' Tapisserie de Bayeux ' of M. Jules Comte, the Conservateur du Depot Legal au Minis- tere de 1'Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts, was from the first costly, and is now unattainable. No abridgment Ijas been attempted of Mr. Fowke's comments. By the omission of the illustrative appendices, a book adequate and convenient in all respects has been obtained at a price that brings it within the reach of purchasers of moderate means. The whole of the tapestry is exhibited in a series of seventy-nine plates, reproducing by a photographic process the designs. To these are prefixed a history of the serious vicissitudes that have befallen this unique specimen of the results of feminine labour, and an account of the significance of the various scenes in the historical procession, for such it proves to be. Some quarter of a century has elapsed since we visited Bayeux not a par- ticularly cheerful or attractive city for the sake of inspecting the curious historical document which is its chief pride. This was then, and we suppose still is, stretched out in a gallery, almost the whole of which it occupies. Our memory of it is not very vivid ; but the reproduction of the quaint designs
seems a success. In the interpretation of the
scenes much is necessarily conjectural, and of the
various authorities who have undertaken the task
few are in constant accord. That the right mean-
ing of the tapestry as a whole has been discovered
admits of no doubt. It is disturbing to think of
the risk that was run by the Bayeux tapestry
during the time of the Huguenots who were fear-
ful iconoclasts in the French Revolution, and
during the German invasion. It is to be hoped
that danger is passed, since even if the vivacity
of our Gallic neighbours should lead to
further outbreaks religious, military, political, or
other it may perhaps be assumed, though the
days of the Commune are not far distant, that war
will not be made upon works of art or historical
documents. It is impossible for us to deal with
the conjectures that have been made concerning
different scenes, and especially that of "A certain
clerk and J^lfgyva" (plate xviii.), which has been,
and is, much disputed. The borders of this not
too well suited for the employment of fair and
noble fingers provoke conjecture, and seem
likely further to provoke it, none of the ex-
planations given being wholly satisfactory. Mr.
Fowke's volume, at least, throws all the light upon
the tapestry that is likely to be afforded, giving the
latest conclusions of the writer as well as those
of Freem an ( ' Norman Conquest '), Lechaude d' Anesy ,
Planche, Bolton Corney, and other writers, as well
as supplying much curious information from
archaeological sources. The book deserves a warm
welcome.
The Secrets of the Night, and other Esthonian Tales.
Translated by F. Ethel Hynam. (Stock.) WITH this attractive and prettily illustrated work begins " The European Folk-Tale Series," a collec- tion intended " a double debt to pay," and to please the antiquary and the folk-lorist at the same time that it appeals to children. Eleven further volumes will complete the series. A happy beginning has been made. Until recently, when the Finnish Literary Society took it in hand, Esthonian folk-lore had been little studied, for the cause, most probably, that it was difficult of access. The stories have a large measure of the naivete of Russian folk- tales, and overflow both with imagination and poetry. The chief obligation if such it may be called appears to be, however, to Lithuanian sources. Six stories in all are given, and are of a nature to make us wish for more. ' The Secrete of the Night,' which assigns its name to the volume, is a weirdly imaginative tale, teaching a lesson like 'Faust' as to the danger in seeking superhuman knowledge. Others of the stories are familiar in different forms, but the version is in every case one of the best we can recall. The literature of Russian, Mongolian, Slavonic, Polish, Bohemian, Servian, Magyar, and Scandinavian races will be illustrated in future volumes, and the series is likely to enjoy a widespread popularity. Mr. Oakes-Jones's designs are veritable illustrations, and the get-up of the Dook is creditable in all respects.
The Fortunes of Nigel. By Sir Walter Scott, Edited
by Andrew Lang. (Nimmo.)
LT speaks much for the value of 'The Fortunes of Sigel,' the latest addition to Mr. Nimmo's reissue of his beautiful "Border" edition of the Waverley novels, that it holds the reader enthralled in spite of the ignoble character of its hero. It is, of course,
