260
NOTES AND QUERIES. 19 th s. VIL MARCH so, 1901.
natural philosophers of Ionia. Referring here to
the beginning of scientific research, he makesk the
suggestive remark that it was " a double blessing
for the free progress of thought among the Greeks
that their predecessors in civilization possessed an
organized priesthood, and that they themselves
lacked it. The Orphic and Pythagorean sys-
tems then engage attention. Book II. is devoted
to the metaphysicians and positive-scientists from
Parmenides, the founder of the doctrine of unity and
the unchangeability of matter, down to that showy
charlatan Empedocles, who was nevertheless the
father of modern chemistry. Book III. deals with
the ' Age of Enlightenment,' which takes in the
physicians a chapter of great interest the Atom-
ists, and other pioneers of science, ending with the
Sophists and the historians, down to Thucydides.
A notable passage here occurs on the legitimate use
of hypothesis in scientific investigation, when " the
golden guess is morning star to the full round of
truth," for, as William Blake observed, " what is
now proved was once all imagined."
A valuable mass of notes and references is rele- gated to the end of the volume. We confess we prefer the older method of exhibiting these neces- sary aids at the foot of the page. It may detract from the typographical symmetry, but it is much more convenient for the reader. The translator has judiciously furnished a provisional index to the present instalment. The second volume, which will deal mainly with the important personalities of Plato and Socrates, will appear this year ; and the final volume, which we believe is still in the making, will follow in due time. Meanwhile we have enough to secure our hearty commendation of what will be a monumental work.
Byegones relating to Wales and the Border Counties.
Vol. VI. (Oswestry and Wrexham, Woodall
& Co.)
MUCH quaint information is buried in this periodical, which has now enjoyed a life longer than is vouch- safed to many publications of its class. It is, moreover, useful as a work of reference in regard to the Principality and its borders. We welcome its protonged existence, and should have nothing but praise for it if it would rectify the error in its title,
Coutts <fc Co., Bankers, Edinburgh and London.
By Ralph Richardson, F.S. A.Scot. (Stock.) BEFORE a year is put a second edition of Mr. Richardson s memoirs of the Couttses has been demanded. It now appears in an enlarged and amended form, and will doubtless be followed by other editions. The plates are the same as before, and the volume is in all respects equal to its pre- decessor. It is rather deplorable, however, that a mistake in the letterpress so easily remedied as that we pointed out (see 9 th S. v. 507) remains un- corrected.
We have received the third volume of the Annual Transactions of the United Empire Loyalists' Asso- ciation, issued at Toronto from the Church of England Publishing Company. In addition to intro- ductory matter giving the constitution and by-laws with portraits and memoirs of the officers of the institution, the book furnishes various historical and biographical sketches. Many of them open out matter concerning which the average Eng- lishman knows very much less than he ought.
Lady Dilke supplies an account of Samuel Strong
and the Georgia Loyalists. How many people
know, we wonder, how loyal a state was Georgia ;
and how it was recovered from the insurgents, into
whose hands it had fallen; or have heard of the
brilliant defence of Savannah against the allied
" Whigs" and French? Loss of property was not
the most humiliating experience of the Strongs
during the rebellion, though that was heavy enough.
One of them, who was credited with the authorship
of some pamphlets written on the Government
side, was " tarred and feathered and ridden on a
rail." The loyalty then so conspicuously displayed
still characterizes the Strongs, three of whom
are serving in South Africa. Much interesting
information concerning the Fairfaxes is comprised
in Lady Dilke's valuable contribution. Other
loyalists of whom an account is given include the
Leeple family, of Dutch extraction, whose story is
particularly romantic. The adventures of the
Merritts, originally De Meriet, are told by Miss
Catherine Nina Merritt, of Toronto. Mr. Edward
Marion Chadwick deals with the Six Nations
Indians as United Empire Loyalists. Mrs. Char-
lotte Bruce Carey deals with the Bruce family.
Dr. William Canniff depicts Adolphustown, the
first settlement of United Empire Loyalists, and
Mr. Walter Rogers tells the story of his ancestors'
sufferings for the cause. It is pleasant to find a
worthy tribute at length paid to the steadfast and
heroic sons of England, whose history for a hundred
years has been strangely neglected. Many of the
incidents recorded are eminently stimulating, and
the tale of suffering of the founders of empire in
Canada is worthy of a conspicuous place in our
history.
fjtotijwa ia C0ms0tt&jmi*.
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notices :
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M. N. G. ("Cicero on Augurs "). Here is the reference : " Vetus autem illud Catonis admodum scitum est qui mirari se dicebat, quod non rideret haruspex haruspicem quum vidisset" (Cic., ' Div. ' ii. 24, 51).
NOTICE.
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