. IX. JUNE 21, 1902.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
499
which, in his deeply interesting paper, Mr. Dicey
longest dwells is the manner in which a policy of
annexation on the part of all the powerful nations
in the world has connected itself with or followed the
possession of increased armaments. England and
Germany, the two countries with the densest and
most rapidly increasing population, take, neces-
sarily, the lead in obeying an instinct due to what
is called the contraction of the earth and the dread
of being crowded out. The dislike to England felt
by foreign countries is shown to be connected with
English expansion, and the growth of Imperialism
is stated to be due in part to the feeling that the
nations of the world are, as a rule, against us, and
that there is the more need we should to ourselves
be true. Not only England and her colonies, but
the nations generally of the world, are dealt with
in an essay equally wide in observation and mode-
rate in statement. One of the subjects in the know-
ledge of which conspicuous advance has recently
been made is Babylonia and Assyria, which are dealt
with by Prof. Sayce. Recent explorations have
greatly extended the range of our knowledge. In
this extension the most important and systematic
work that has been done in Babylonia is that of the
expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, which
has been scientifically investigating the temple of El-
lil, otherwise Bel, at Niffer, the ancient Nippur, one
of the centres from which radiated early Babylonian
culture, the other centre being Eridu, now repre-
sented by Abu-Shahrein. Ea of Eridu was a god
of light, while El-lil of Nippur was that of the
ghostland. Progress has been made of late in Baby-
lonian chronology, a subject in regard to which we
were until recently in almost total darkness. A
list of Babylonian dynasties and kings, so far as
they are at present known, is given at pp. 45, 46.
A high degree of civilization appears to have been
attained. There was little polygamy; torture as
a means of extorting confession was unknown ;
education was widespread, women as well as men
being able to read and write, and extinct as well
as living languages were studied. Bacchylides, the
Greek lyric poet, is the subject of an admirable
essay by Sir Richard Jebb. Very great progress
has been made during the last few years in our
knowledge of bacteria, and the illustrated con-
tributions of Profs. Marshall Ward and Robert
Muir are of extreme importance. One of the points
of most interest is the effect of rays of light upon
these organisms. Spores of B. anthracis which with-
stand high temperatures can be killed by exposure
to rays of reflected light at temperatures far below
anything injurious to growth. ' Balloons, Military,'
by Major Baden-Powell, late President of the Aero-
nautical Society, is disappointingly short. An
account of Baluchistan, by Sir T. H. Holdich, is
accompanied by a map. The whole of Baluchistan
has now been surveyed Passing over ' Banking '
and 'Bankruptcy,' we come to 'Bantu Languages,'
a term used to designate the most remarkable group
of African languages. This is by Sir Harry John-
ston, and is accompanied by a map of South Africa
from Senegal and Abyssinia to the Cape, showing
the countries in which the tongue is spoken. Accom-
panying the life of Antoine Louis Barye is a repro-
duction of his 'Lion and Snake," and with that of
Marie Bashkirtseff to use the name by which she is
generally known is given one of her ' The Meeting.'
Bayreuth is principally noticeable for the Wagner
Theatre, fully described by Mr. J. A. Fuller Mait-
land. A portrait accompanies the life of Lord
Beaconsfield by Mr. Frederick Greenwood. In
this contribution an account of the Beaconsfield
family and its separation from Judaism is included.
The view concerning Lord Beaconstield is sympa-
thetic. He is, however, declared to have been
thoroughly and unchangeably a Jew, and an
Englishman in nothing but his devotion to England
and his solicitude for her honour and prosperity.
1 Bechuanaland ' is another of those South African
articles which occupy a considerable space in the
volume. The modern literature of Belgium is dis-
cussed by Mr. Arthur Symons. Among the writers
treated is naturally M. Maeterlinck, wlio is said to
have invented a whole theatre of marionettes,
"more mysteriously simple than human beings.
' Belgrade ' is by the late Servian Minister at the
Court of St. James's ; ' Bengal ' by Mr. J. S. Cotton ;
and * Benin ' by Col. Gallwey and Sir George S.
Clarke, Governor of Victoria. The information
supplied in the last article is naturally new, com-
prising as it does the British punitive expedition
of 1897. Berlin and its environs are the subjects
of plans which would be more useful if clearer in
design, at any rate, so far as old eyes are concerned.
Mr. Alfred Watson writes on ' Betting ' and the
anomalies in the law thereon. Major Broadfoot
writes on ' Billiards,' and Dr. Hans Gadpw on
' Birds.' Mr. J. W. Headlam contributes lives of
Beust and Bismarck, the latter biography being
enriched with an admirable portrait. With Marie
Rosalie Bonheur are given reproductions of two
famous pictures. ' Bookbinding/ by Mr. Davenport,
' Book-plates,' by Mr. Egerton Castle, and ' Book
Printing,' by Mr. Charles Ricketts, are all freely
illustrated. A reduced facsimile of a page of the
Kelmscott ' Chaucer ' accompanies the last. Much
new information is furnished concerning Borneo,
which also is supplied with a map. A portrait of
George Borrow is furnished with Mr. Watts-Dunton's
biography of that writer. A good reproduction of
the ' Return of the Gleaners ' appears with the life
of Jules le Breton. Long articles on ' Brazil,' ' Brew-
ing,' &c , are of little literary interest. * Bridge,' the
game, is treated, presumably for the first time m an
encyclopedia. With Prof. Unwin's 'Bridges' are
given designs of the Tower Bridge, the Washington
and New East River Bridges, New York, and a bridge
over the North Sea and Baltic Canal. Achievements
more remarkable than some of these are to be
found. 'The British Empire' is by Miss Flora
Shaw. Madox Brown's famous * Work,' which we
were once in the habit of seeing daily, illustrates
Mr. W. M. Rossetti's acc9unt of the painter. A
not very striking portrait is given with Mr. Leslie
Stephen's ' Browning.' ' Buddhism ' is by Prof. Rhys
Davids. ' Bulgaria ' is treated at some length by
Mr. Bourchier. ' Bull-fighting ' is in the hands of
Mr. Alfred Watson. ' Burma,' by Sir J. G. Scott,
has two maps. The life of Burne- Jones is illus-
trated by a portrait and two designs. Mr. Stanley
Lane-Poole, in what is, perhaps, the most judicious
biography in the volume, gives a capital account of
Sir Richard Francis Burton. 'Canada,' which is
dealt with by three different authorities, is the
most important article encountered during ^the
short incursion into the letter C. 'Canals, 'Cari-
cature,' 'Ceylon,' ' Chemistry.' and 'Chess 'are all
of interest, as is a biography of Carlyle by Mr. Leslie
Stephen, who is not quite accurately described as
editor of the ' Dictionary of National Biography,
a post from which he has long retired. In interest
and importance the volume claims high rank.
