Charles Wheatstone, then a boy of 14, invented the electric telegraph. In the garden he laid eight miles of cable, fragments of which were dug up in 1871, and are preserved in the Pavilion Museum at Brighton, and at South Kensington. From 1868 to 1877 the house was occupied by George Macdonold, and was then known as The Retreat. Morris renamed it after his beautiful old home in Oxfordshire, "and he liked to think that the water which ran under his window at Hammersmith had passed the meadows and grey gables."
Another well-known Hammersmith resident was Frederic George Stephens, who lived until his death in 1907 at 9 Hammersmith Terrace. He was the art critic of The Athenæum from 1861 to 1900, and was the model for the head of Christ in Madox Brown's 'Christ washing Peter's Feet.'
The plates and plans in the volume (121 in number) are, as in the previous sections of the Survey, beautifully executed, and too great praise can hardly be accorded to the careful work of the joint editors, Mr. James Bird and Mr. Philip Norman.
This is a manual for students, written in rather abrupt, careless English, full of lively ideas, and eagerly suggestive. The weakest part of it is the biography of Shakespeare with which it begins. We were nearly "put off" the book altogether by it; but, persevering, found ourselves rewarded. The dissertation on the Elizabethan stage is both entertaining and useful. Prof. Stephenson makes out a very good case for the idea that they were able, at the Globe, to darken the stage. His theory of the "hut" is that it was the receptacle for the rollers of those painted cloths whence they were let down as wanted to form the background of the inner scene. We think he is right in giving the Elizabethans credit for ingenuity enough to stage their plays at least as effectively as a tolerably resourceful amateur troupe can do nowadays; and he supports his opinion by giving the reader lists of stage properties, &c., of which we have the actual detail.
Eleven of the plays are subjected to more or less close discussion. In these, we think, Prof. Stephenson does not quite keep clear of the common mistake of over-rating the subtlety and comprehensiveness of Shakespeare's intention, and under-rating his luck. But he points out well the true bearings of construction, and has some excellent things to say concerning the relation of the plays to Elizabethan commonplaces of thought and custom, especially so in regard to 'The Taming of the Shrew.' The "study" of Romeo and Juliet, again, is an acute and carefully worked out piece of criticism; so is that of the function of the ghost in 'Hamlet.' On the character of Hamlet (though we agree with him in thinking that Hamlet was neither mad nor yet, accurately speaking, philosophical) we found him less satisfactory. In fact, as to character, one of the chief impressions left with us by the book as a whole is that of a curious incompatibility between the Elizabethan and the American temperament. Shakespeare's men and women seem to suffer a sort of transposition from one key to another at the hands of their trans-atlantic critics. We do not mean this as disparagement, for no doubt it is what a Crusader would feel if he heard a modern European reckoning up the abilities of Coaur-de-Lion or Louis IX., or, in general, of the men who meet us in the Chronicles.
Where, in this dealing with Shakespearian characters, the divergence begins is, perhaps, in a tendency to over-define this or that aspect. Something of the same sort may be observed in Prof. Stephenson's description of Shakespeare's London, where several thingssuch as the hospitals, the schools, the life of the merchants and the wealthy—are lightly touched on, or omitted altogether, while great emphasis is laid on the gutters, the noises, and the overhanging gables.
The chapters on the Plays are written as a running commentary, supposed to be read with a text in one's hand. Without subscribing to every word of it, we should certainly recommend the book to the attention of those who may have the idea of reading the plays again after having, perhaps, neglected them, or only read them in youth, and more or less unguided.
Obituary.
HENRY NICHOLSON ELLACOMBE.
Our readers will regret to hear of the death of our old and valued correspondent Canon Ellacombe of Bitton. His contributions to our columns, though somewhat intermittent, range over a long period of years; and preceding his name in the Indexes we have that of his father. This succession occurs also in the main business of his life, for in 1850 he succeeded his father as Vicar of Bitton, near Bristol, and inherited likewise the vicarage garden, which, through his enthusiasm and skill, has become so well known to amateur horticulturists. Evidences of his work and knowledge as a gardener are to be found in 'N. & Q.,' but he wrote also on ecclesiastical and literary subjects.
Notices to Correspondents.
New Haven, Conn.—Forwarded to Mrs Damant.
Mr. A. Collingwood Lee.—Letter forwarded to Mr. Maurice Jonas.
Mr. M. L. R. Breslar ("Parallel between Goethe and Shelley").—Probably the lines sought are those of the harp-player's song in 'Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre,' book ii. xiii.—"Wer nie sein Brod mit Thränen ass," &c.
Mr. Apperson ("Village Pounds").—Col. Fynmore refers to 5 S. vii. 400 for a note about a pound at Leeds: "Impounded in the Pinfold, Edward Street, Leeds, a brown mare," mentioning that in this case the impounder appears to be called the "Pinder."
Corrigendum.—E. B. de C. writes: "I beg, with permission, to correct an unfortunate slip in proof-correcting on p. 125, col. 2, line 32. The Jacomb coat is: Per chevron az. and erm., in chief two lions' heads erased arg. (Herald's Coll. 1672). ('…heads erased of the second' is another version). The Alleyne coat is as stated: Per chevron gu. and erm., in chief two lions' heads erased or (Herald's Coll.) 1769."
