|
Memoirs of the Life of
Sir Walter Scott, Bart. By John Gibson Lockhart. In ten volumes.
Toronto, George N. Morang & Co., Limited.
This princely work (see
page 83), through the patriotic enterprise of the Canadian publishers,
George N. Morang & Co., Limited, Toronto, is brought within the range of
Canadian book buyers. It is a magnificent work, and an undertaking of
magnitude to place it on the Canadian market. It may be said that not
until now has the life- story of Scott been done justice to, as have the
lives of Thackeray, Dickens, Parkman, and other stars of no greater
magnitude in the literary firmament. Of course, Lockhart's life of Scott
has always been one of the best of biographies, a work in which the
author will live immortal. But hitherto the artist and the commentator
could not have done their full share. In this edition, limited to one
hundred copies for Canada, illustrations are furnished which are
beautiful works of art, and notes and explanations are supplied from
sources until recently unavailable. New light is cast on the great
novelist and poet by these researches, while the illustrations, forming,
as they do, a gallery of portraits of some of the most distinguished men
and women of Scotland, England and America of Scott's day, are of
themselves a worthy monument to Scott and worth the price of the book.
There are reproductions from the most famous portraits of Scott, of
members of his family, of his haunts and residences, of Edinburgh,
Abbotsford, Ashestiel, Lasswade cottage, and of Scottish abbeys; of
members of the publishing firms who published his books, such as James
Ballantyne, Robert Cadell, Archibald Constable, James Murray; of James
Hogg, Alexander Adam, Henry Cockburn, John Gibson Lockhart, Charles
Mackay, Lord Byron, Sir William Forbes, Washington Irving, Miss Ferrier,
Rev. George Crabbe, William Wordsworth, Francis Jeffrey, Charles
Kirkpatrick Sharpe and others. The notes have been drawn from Scott's
"Familiar Letters'> and "Journal;" " Life and Letters of Lockhart," by
Andrew Lang; MSS. of Lady Louisa Stuart; Mrs. Oliphant's "William
Blackwood and His Sons," "Memoir of John Murray," "Archibald Constable
and His Literary Correspondents," etc., etc. The text is printed from
new plates on a very fine antique laid paper, deckle edges, specially
manufactured for this fine edition. The binding is of two kinds—English
Buckram, paper labels, uncut, deckle edges; and three-quarter French
levant, hand-bound and tooled, gilt top, deckle edges; or special
bindings in fine French levant may be ordered.
Reverting to the value of
the Notes, an interesting example may be quoted from Vol. I., page 130:
"By the way, before Ivanhoe made its appearance, I had myself been
formally admitted to the author's secret; but had he favored me with no
such confidence, it would have been impossible for me to doubt that I
had been present some months before at the conversation which suggested,
and indeed supplied all the materials of one of its most amusing
chapters. I allude to that in which our Saxon terms for animals in the
field, and our Norman equivalents for them as they appear on the table,
and so on, are explained and commented on. All this Scott owed to the
after-dinner talk one day in Castle Street of his old friend Mr. William
Clerk, who, among other elegant pursuits, has cultivated the science of
philology very deeply." The accompanying note is as follows:
It is said that the character of Rebecca was suggested to Scott by
Washington Irving's description of Rebecca Gratz, of Philadelphia, a
lady belonging to a Jewish family of high position in that city, with
whom Irving was intimate. Miss Gratz had been a friend of his betrothed,
Matilda Hoffman, and in her youth had loved devotedly a man in every way
worthy of her, but the difference of religion made their union
impossible. During a conversation with Scott, Irving spoke with much
feeling of Rebecca Gratz, of her extraordinary beauty, of her adherence
to her faith under most trying circumstances, of her nobility,
distinction, and loveliness of character, and her untiring zeal in works
of charity, greatly interesting his host, as the guest recalled when
"Ivanhoe" appeared.
Rebecca Gratz died in
1869 in her eighty- ninth year. A sketch of her, with a portrait after a
miniature by Malbone, was published in the Century Magazine for
September, 1882.
The appearance of this
great edition is opportune. A decided revival of interest in Sir Walter
Scott has set in. It is not suggested by this statement that there has
been any waning of interest in his novels, which have kept their strong
hold over the reading public; but during the last few years there has
been an awakening in the study of Scott's personality and of the scenes
and episodes in his romantic career. Students of his life have risen
from among the readers of his works, and the demand for everything
connected with the famous "Wizard" has been increasing. It is a good
sign of the times, an evidence that the great masters will never be cast
aside, but will perennially command the admiration of a cultured public.
Among the great masters none was greater than Scott. Here is the
estimate of a keen, broadminded writer: "To read Scott's novels is one
of the recognized pleasures of life; a pleasure which the wise old
world—which knows more than its teachers can tell it— will never be
lectured into abandoning. But to read his biography, to read his
letters, to read his journal, is to grow in love with earth because such
a man has lived on it. Lockhart's proud and melancholy reserve had
melted like a snowdrift under this genial influence; and to him more
than to other men had come an intimate knowledge of Scott's sane and
manly virtues, his kindness, his patience, his courage, his
unostentatious acceptance of near duties, his absolute immaculate
freedom from the literary sins of envy, jealousy and vanity."
No one who can afford it,
certainly no Scot in Canada, should miss the opportunity of possessing a
set of these volumes, worthy as to subject, artistic excellence and
craftsmanship to be placed on the shelf alongside the finest specimens
of the bookman's art.
The British Landlord:
Part I. —This is the first part of a series of papers which have been
prepared, and are in course of publication, by Norman Murray, 21 Beaver
Hall Hill, Montreal. As to Mr. Murray's special fitness to write on this
subject as he does from "a social, economic and political point of
view," no doubt remains after a perusal of the first paper in the series
now issued. Mr. Murray's knowledge of the British landlord is
exhaustive, his knowledge of the Highland laird is practical; he has
endured in person. He has read deeply the literature of his subject, and
has obtained an easy mastery over the fundamental principles of
economics and of social and agricultural problems. Occasionally somewhat
extreme in expression, his statements generally are fairly open to
verification and his arguments lose nothing from the vigor with which
they are urged. Mr. Murray's object is to show why the British landlord
should be entirely abolished—in England, Ireland and Scotland. He does
not object to private ownership, but to lords of the land, as he
probably would to lords of labor. He advocates that the people be given
freeholds; that the owner should not only be the occupier but also the
cultivator of the soil he holds, and in this position Mr. Murray may
surely claim the sympathy of all thoughtful students of land economics.
No student of social reform can afford to overlook the land question—it
is at the root of the food question and of harmful monopoly. The value
of Mr. Murray's essays lies not altogether in that he has a clear view
of this truth, but that he buttresses his position by examples as vivid
as they are convincing; hence his pages are not an abstruse statement,
but a story bristling with incidents and facts of thrilling power. The
landlord is pilloried, but it would be entirely inadequate to
characterize the "Broadside" as a mere denunciation of landlordism. Root
principles are taken hold of which, if developed and projected into the
realm of living fact, would revolutionize and bless modern life. Mr.
Murray is a patriot—a sane, far-seeing patriot—who has enough of the
make-up of the prophet and martyr to be ahead of his age, but he is no
Jeremiah. His manner of attack, and his fearlessness—which might
probably be tempered a little to advantage—are not likely to attract
friends to him, and his case is too good, his vision too clear, his work
too valuable for him to be left as "the voice of one crying in the
wilderness." It is only by association with his fellows, by organization
and concerted effort, wisely as well as vigorously directed, that an
impression can be made on wrongs in this materialistic, selfish age. Be
that as it may, Mr. Murray is doing work that some day will bear fruit.
More power to his elbow. Nahnile la dha.
Lady Nairne's Songs.—A
little volume which all lovers of Scottish song ought to be grateful for
is a new edition of "Lady Nairne and Her Songs," by Rev. George
Henderson, M.A., B.D., the minister of Monzie, published for 21 by
Alexander Gardner, Paisley. Lady Nairne's life-story, as well as her
songs, will always maintain a strong hold on the popular heart, and few
Scottish authors more richly deserve to be studied and known. The
authoress of "The Land o' the Leal" was born in 1766 at Gask House,
Perthshire. Her father was Lawrence Oliphant (referred to as the "Auld
Laird "), who died in 1792. Her mother was a daughter of Robertson of
Strowan. When in her forty-first year, a long betrothal happily
culminated in her marriage with her second cousin, Major Nairne,
afterwards Lord Nairne, but long before then she had composed many of
her celebrated songs. She shrank from publicity, and by strict adherence
to a nom de plume she was able to preserve anonymity practically during
her lifetime. Hence it was that "The Land o' the Leal" could have been
credited to another, and it was no small compliment that Burns only was
deemed to have been gifted enough to compose so perfect a song; and the
critics, and at least one publisher, included it in his work. It is
supposed that Lady Nairne was influenced by the genius of Burns, who was
only a few years earlier than herself in the field. Indeed, he was at
the height of his fame in 1793 when she composed her first poem. She
forms a link in the poetic chain between Burns and Hogg and Sir Walter
Scott. Her best known songs were inspired by the Jacobite sentiment so
deeply rooted in her family, but her sympathies embraced whatever she
believed to be good and true, and the Covenanters. of Scotland had no
more fervid; admirer, a fact she has proved in more than one song. She
was a pious, cultured, and benevolent lady of the olden time—typically
Scottish, yet not narrowly so in any respect. She impressed her genius
on her own generation, and her thoughts, expressed in her exquisite
songs, do their work in our time in mellowing the mind and inspiring the
heart of true lovers of their kind.
Canada, My Home.—At
one time the note struck by the Scottish settlers was wistful and sad.
The sacred associations of the old home clung to them with a deadening
weight, and it required all their faith and courage to face hopefully
the hardships of pioneer life. The verses they composed and the letters
they wrote were pervaded by this spirit.
"From the dim sheiling on
the misty island
Mountains divide us and a waste of seas
But yet our hearts are true, our hearts are Highland,
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides."
But a new note soon
appeared. The bush gave way to the clearing, the clearing to the broad
cultivated meadow, the log shack to the frame or brick dwelling, and as
the country emerged the muse rose on soaring pinion, radiant and proud.
"O Liberty, how sweet
thou art!
My country thrills in every part
With thy true, living voice;
The famished poor, the trodden slave,
May come among the free and brave—
In Canada rejoice.
No land illumed by yonder
sun,
Can more inspiring be than One
Where my far visions roam
O'er prairies wide, o'er mountains grand—
My love is thine, thou lavish land,
Dear Canada, my home."
These verses are from a
poem entitled "Canada, My Home," by Grant Balfour, an Edinburgh man, who
has made Canada his home and whose name is J. M. Grant. The poem is a
good illustration of how devotedly attached Old Country people become to
Canada after a few years' residence. The old land is still dear to the
heart, but so is the new land. There is no feeling of isolation nor of
separation; it is merely a change of place within the British Empire,
and the lover of Canada shows no coldness to the Motherland. "Grant
Balfour" has done service to Canada, of no small value, by the
publication of this poem. It ranks among the very best on the subject,
and they, naturally enough, are not few. Not only is the tone highly
patriotic, the diction is felicitous and the spirit truly poetic—the
quiet spirit of the contemplative poet—and the tribute is worthy of the
country in whose honor it has been composed.
The author has wooed the
muse to some account in other paths, and his efforts, one and all, stamp
him as a thoughtful, cultured Scot, whose horizon is brightened by faith
in the eternal verities, and who believes in conveying his own message
to his fellow man in a quiet and kindly manner. His verses to the late
Prof. Henry Calderwood will be found in this issue of this ANNUAL, and
discloses the author's own sympathetic mind. He has also essayed prose,
with marked success, two of his best known booklets being "The Mother of
St. Nicholas," a charmingly told story, and "The Fairy School of Castle
Frank," a child's story, the scene of which is laid near Toronto. Mr.
Grant's talents are of no mean order and deserve encouragement from all
who love the beautiful products of a cultivated mind.
Love Songs of
Scotland.—The love songs of Scotland have formed the subject of many a
prized collection, and there does not seem to be an end to the process.
The material certainly is exhaustless, and the demand never-failing. I
Consequently it comes to be a matter of judicious selection and good
editing and printing. The collection before us has been made by Robert
W. Douglas, and it has been published by McLeod & Allen, Toronto. It is
printed on fine paper, beautifully bound in cream cloth boards,
decorated, and is suitable for souvenir or library use. No better
feeding has come our way for a long time, and it is not expensive.
The Kilt and How to
Wear It, By the Hon. Stuart Ruadri Erskine. (Inverness: The Highland
News. Toronto: The Scottish Canadian. Cloth, pp. 102. Price $1.00.) This
brochure is the offspring of a genuine desire to uphold the Celtic
dress—the national costume of Scotland—and the author deserves every
encouragement in his patriotic undertaking. Were that more of Scotland's
gentle and noble scions put their hands to such and similar effort. To
the reader it may be said, that in this small volume the author gives
more than he promises in the title. He gets down to more than one-half
of his space before he takes up the Highland Dress. The preliminary
chapters are devoted to comments on such subjects of absorbing interest
to the Scotchman as "Gaidheal' and 'Gael"; "Concerning the Clans"; "Of
the Highland Line or Boundary"; "Of Tartans"; "Of Clan Tartans"; "Of
Hill Checks or Tartan." Then we came to the "Celtic Dress," and the
details are described—the bonnet, the doublet, the big kilt and the
little kilt, the hose, garters and brogues, the plaid, arms and
ornaments. Highlanders not infrequently hold curious notions regarding
the national costume, some of which this work will help remove, and
there are keen observations throughout the book, which will be found
useful to the student of the subjects dealt with; but to the average
reader, the man or woman who has not read much about these subjects, and
who knows less, a word of warning is necessary, and it is that this book
cannot be accepted as conclusive authority on quite a number of points
raised and dealt with. At the same time, the book merits extensive
circulation because of its suggestiveness, the refreshing breeziness of
its style, and the undoubted sincerity of the author. A few
illustrations would not have come amiss, but, as it is, the reader will
have more than his money's worth.
The Famous Scots
Series.— This series of biographies of famous Scots still goes on,
one of the latest being a brief "Life of Henry Drummond," by James Young
Simpson. The publishers, Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, Edinburgh, supply
them to the trade and to the reader at the remarkably low figure of 1/6
each; and surely no Scottish family should be without some of them. The
list is most excellent, affording a wide range of choice. This Life of
Dr. Drummond stands well alongside the larger one by Professor George A.
Smith, and the very readable sketch by Cuthbert Lennox. New matter is
included, but the book is not so much an attempt to furnish biographical
detail as it is a broad study of the man, an estimate of his work. Of
Drummond, as a man of science, Mr. Simpson happily hits the mark when he
says: "He was not so much a biologist invading the world of religion, as
a poet invading and capturing the world of science." "To his mind the
azure of the heavens was as scientific as the precession of the
equinoxes; the cellular structure of living things was as poetical as
the greenness of the grass. He for one stood back, and sought the
underlying unity of the natural and the spiritual." Drummond's three
important journeys - with Geikie to North America; to Central Africa,
described in "Tropical Africa"; and to the New Hebrides —are touched
upon, and a summing up of his great books, in which he is ranked, is
given in this volume, which, as a bright, readable production is a
welcome addition to the Series.
It is not often that one
comes across the observations and impressions of a lady octogenarian
traveller, even in these days of prolific book-making. Mrs. A. J. Stocks
resides in the "lang toon" of Kirkcaldy, and her story is of a journey
therefrom across the Atlantic to New York, Niagara Falls, and across the
Canadian continent to the mining camps of southern British Columbia, the
date of starting being May, 1900. The object of her travels, at her time
of life, was to visit relatives and see the new world where they lived,
and the courage required for such an undertaking is apparent in her
descriptions and comments throughout the narrative. The material she
gathered for her diary, of which the book is practically a reproduction,
and the information she gives are remarkably true. Canadians will be
interested in the comparisons drawn and in the impressions made upon an
intelligent observer by the people and institutions of this country. The
route of travel is, of course, one which has been often the subject of
description, but Mrs. Stocks' narrative is fresh, racy, and interesting,
notwithstanding, and ought to be of special service to Scotchmen
intending to visit Canada for pleasure or settlement. The book is
published by the Fifeshire Advertiser, Kirkcaldy, where copies can be
obtained on application.
Times of Retirement.
By Rev. George Matheson, D.D. (Fleming H. Revell Co., Toronto. Cloth,
pp. 301. $1.25 net. See page 84.) Perhaps nothing in the devotional
literature of the day has equal charm to Dr. Matheson's writings. With a
delightful style there is a warmth and a colouring which can only come
from a mind like his— reflective, sweet by chastening, courageous, and
brave - for the poet-preacher of Scotland has been blind since he was
twenty years of age. His visions have been peculiarly introspective, and
he translates himself on the printed page. This book is made up of very
short meditations on a variety of subjects such as a devout mind would
reflect upon for comfort and rest, in the intervals of peace from life's
strenuous duties. They are based upon a Bible thought or sentence, but
are not wrought out addresses or essays. The longest can be read in
three or four minutes, and each in its way is a gem of purest thought
set in beautiful language. The point of view is to appeal to the
feelings of the heart through the understanding. "A man may have faith
in what he does not understand, but he cannot have emotion in what he
does not understand," is his own way of putting it, and therein lies an
explanation of his attitude to the religious life. The book is prefaced
by a biographical sketch, furnished by the Rev. D. Macmillan, M.A.,
editor of Saint Andrew, a Scottish Church periodical, which tells
briefly the pathetic story of an eminently useful life.
The Twentieth Century
New Testament, Part II.-(Fleming H. Revell Co., Toronto. Cloth, 50
cents.) The second part of this learned work well repays perusal. Taken
with the Authorized Version the lover of the Holy Scriptures will find
it very helpful indeed. The work does not seem to be designed to
supersede the Authorized Version; its purpose is to give a free, rather
than a literal, translation, yet faithful to the "true sense of the
original Greek." Therein lies its value. As a companion to the
translation by use and sacred by association, it is welcomed as a real
boon to the careful reader of the New Testament. The language used is
that of the present day— plain, simple, so as to be easily understood by
young and old, learned or unlearned; in fact, to reach the understanding
and hold the attention of all classes of readers.
The Curler's Annual,
issued by the Ontario Curling Association, for this year, is a more than
usually interesting production. It is the twenty-seventh volume, and the
material for such a repository would seem to be increasing as time
glides on. Mr. J. S. Russel, who retired from the post of secretary
after an occupancy of more than twenty years, contributes many valuable
reminiscences. Mr. Maclennan, one of the joint editors, is stirred to
song, and gives away the "secret of curling" in verse as smooth as the
ideal ice of a covered rink, and the moral in his last couplet deserves
to be quoted:
"But it's only the man in
a curler that counts,
And skill without that is nought."
Much interesting matter
about the roarin' game is given which ought to please even the general
reader, while the statements and reports will furnish a necessary record
to the devotees of the game.
Culture and Restraint
is a title which demands attention because of the great importance of
these words when placed in juxtaposition. The question raised is,
practically, the proper balance of the natural and the supernatural as
agents in the right development of man. The field is as wide as it is
important, for the whole conduct and belief of man is involved. Should
moral considerations influence art? or should authors, artists, and
teachers raise ideals free from any such consideration and based
entirely on nature's untrammelled promptings? To harmonize the supposed
discord between the culture and restraint of the individual is no easy
matter, yet is one inviting the best powers of a man of culture. The
Rev. Hugh Black essays the task in his "Culture and Restraint," and
achieves a remarkable triumph. The names of the chapters indicate the
scope of the work and the line of treatment. Some of them are: "Zion
Against Greece," "The /Esthetic Ideal—Culture," "Culture as Religion,"
"The Perfect Man," "The Ascetic Ideal - Restraint," "Origin and Growth
of Asceticism," "The Mediaval Treatment of Sainthood," "The Teaching of
Jesus on Asceticism," "The Christian Solution," etc. It is unnecessary
to add that the book displays the learning and persuasive eloquence for
which Mr. Black is distinguished, and is a most welcome volume at the
present time. (Fleming H. Revell Co., Toronto. $1.50 net. See page 84.)
Robert Urquhart is
not a new book, but the revival of interest in it by the public falls to
be chronicled. It is offered in handsome garb by Fleming H. Revell Co.,
Toronto, at a reduced price, and to those who love a good, high-class
story—and who does not?—it will come as a welcome visitor. The story
bristles with incident woven around a simple plot, and is natural and
entertaining. Some of the staple character of Scottish maid and matron,
of sturdy peasant and honest laird is worked in, and while nothing
approaching the sensational taints the page, there is no want of
movement nor of excitement. It is a good, healthy book, the reading of
which ought to be interesting and instructive.
Professor McFadyen, of
Knox College, has steadily made his way to the popular heart by the
beauty and warmth of his devotional writings, as he has to the minds of
the learned by his ripe scholarship. As an author he is always readable,
nay, delightful, and his recent book, "The Divine Pursuit," published by
the Fleming H. Revel! Co., Toronto (210 pp. Cloth, $1.25), will
contribute to the sacred pleasure of every thoughtful reader. The book
is a collection of brief meditations on incidents and texts of Scripture
which have a direct application to daily life. The studies are never
long, but are pithy and of a practical turn. To read one every morning
might occupy ten minutes, but the reader could not fail of deriving tone
and temper for the day's labour, which would be very helpful all day
long in life's strenuous battle. The title is taken from one of the
chapters which exemplifies God's constant care for man. The volume
contains things worthy of Stalkers or Drummond's best.
Canadian Crystals.—This
volume is a collection of poems by Thomas Watson, of Colborne, Ont., an
author whose verse has been more or less familiar locally for some time,
and will now be welcomed in book form. One noticeable thing about the
collection is the great variety of theme which Mr. Watson essays,
notable, anniversaries, clubs, events, institutions, places, persons,
and papers, are poetized, apostrophized, and possibly immortalized, by
his ever- ready muse. No small skill and power are disclosed in some of
the poems, and everywhere a strong, healthy spirit pervades them. One of
the best, "The Heather," is reproduced in this magazine (p. 70), from
which the reader can form a fair estimate of Mr. Watson's verse. William
Briggs, Toronto. Cloth, pp. 16o, price 75 cents.
Warwick of the Knobs,
by John Uri Lloyd (W. J. Gage & Co., Toronto. Cloth, PP. 3o5, price
$1.25), is one of the best books of the year. It is a story of Kentucky,
and is to the manner born. The characters are not merely created, they
represent and illustrate a people with local peculiarities of their
time—the Civil War—as remarkable as any to be found in the rural
sections of the back counties of any State or Province on the Continent.
Warwick was a hard-shell of the old school proud, independent, upright -
a local preacher and an indomitable patriot. His name and family were
the apples of his eyes. His boys he gave to his country, and they fell
as heroes should like to fall. The pathos of his life was touched
through the misfortunes of his much-loved daughter, who was basely
betrayed, and who is the heroine of the story. The author is a
past-master of his art, and holds the reader from beginning to end
wholly absorbed in the tale. The movement is rapid, and not a dull page
in the book. The motive is wholesome, the aim high, the humour genial,
and the scenes and characterization seem true to the life described.
(See page 82.)
NOTES.
"Mac's and Their Books"
is the title of an interesting announcement by William Briggs, Toronto,
which will be found by the reader on page 82.
The two volumes of the
correspondence which passed between the poet Burns and Mrs. Dunlopare
offered by the Scottish Canadian, Toronto, for $2.50. The published
price is $5.00.
Norman Murray, 21 Beaver
Hall Hill, Montreal, is publishing a series of "Broadsides" showing why
the British landlord must go. They are worth more than the price, which
is only 5 cents each. |
