of fine specimens, and died worth a considerable fortune. When he died, Vuillaume went straight to the farm-house where Tarisio's heirs lived, and asked what they had to show in the way of violins. They pointed out to him six cases, which he proceeded to examine; and surely the lucky Frenchman must have enjoyed some moments of such happiness as is not often vouchsafed to the collector in a world where forgeries are frequent and really fine specimens rare. For in the first case he opened he found a splendid Stradivarus; in the second a Joseph del Jesu; in the third a Carlo Bergonzi, in exquisite preservation; in the two next G. B. Guadagninis; and in the sixth a unique and magnificent Stradivarus, as fresh and perfect as when it left the hands of its maker. The last-named instrument-which its possessor, with profane but not unpardonable enthusiasm, christened "The Messiah "-might put in a fair claim to being the finest violin in the world. It is, at any rate, the only specimen of the great master's best work which has come down to us in a condition of complete preservation. These six treasures, together with 244 violins, violas, and violoncellos, all "old masters" in good condition, Vuillaume bought from Tarisio's legatees for a little more than £3,000. It is easy to see that he must have realised a very comfortable profit on the transaction. "The Messiah" alone would probably now fetch nearly as much as he gave for the entire collection. Such were the chances that came to them that sought old violins a generation ago. Nobody in these days need expect anything of the sort. All the good Amatis and Guarneris and Jacob Stainers, to say nothing of the Stradivaris, are securely "placed;" the searcher may just as well expect to pick up a race-horse on the quiet, as to get one of these masterpieces into his hands by hunting about in odd corners in Italy or elsewhere. There are, indeed. very few of these instruments in the world. Otto, the greatest of fiddle restorers and repairers, who practised his trade nearly half a century and had a world-wide reputation, had altogether only thirty fiddles of the five great Cremona makers under his hands. The buyer of "old" violins can at most hope to obtain specimens of the second-rate masters of the last century-if, indeed, he is fortunate enough to escape becoming an easy prey to the ingenious gentlemen who manufacture false antiques by the dozen for the benefit of collectors with more money than knowledge.St. James Gazette.

THE BLENHEIM MANTEGNA.-Mr. Charles L. Eastlake writes thus from the National Gallery to the Times on the subject of the Blenheim Mantegna :

SIR,-The little tempera painting of Sampson and Delilah, by Mantegna, purchased for the National Gallery at the sale of the Sunderland collection, contains a quaint inscription on the trunk of a tree in the background, viz.:

66 FOEMINA DIABOLO TRIBUS ASSIBUS EST MALA PEIOR." In a description of this picture, published shortly after the sale, it was assumed that the letter P must be supplied before "ASSIBUS" to render the words intelligible, and it was suggested that the deficient letter might be supposed to be round the tree trunk, out of sight. An examination of the picture, which is now hung in the Gallery, will, I think, hardly tend to confirm this supposition. The Latin word as, we know, was used idiomatically to denote various measures of extent and capacity, besides those of weight and pecuniary value, and therefore "tribus assibus" in this instance, seems to make quite as good sense as tribus passibus." Indeed, the English expression "three times as bad," signifying, not

repetition, but intensity, is a parallel idiom. Moreover, the line, evidently intended for an hexameter, despite the false quantity of the I in DIABOLUS, will "scan" as it is written without the elision of the final S in "TRIBUS," which would be necessary to the metre if the P were inserted before the following word. But whether we construe it "A wicked woman is thrice as bad as the Devil," or "by three degrees worse than the Devil," the meaning of the author is, I fear, equally plain.

Reviews.

Bygone Beauties. With Annotations. By ANDREW W. TUER. Field & Tuer. 1880.

THIS choice folio work and reprint contains a select series of ten portraits of ladies of rank and fashion, from paintings by John Hopper, R.A., engraved by Charles Wilkin, and originally produced at the end of the last and beginning of the present century. The following is a list of the portraits: Lady Charlotte Duncombe; Charlotte, Viscountess St. Asaph; Lady Charlotte Campbell; Jane Elizabeth, Viscountess Andover; Lady Gertrude Villiers; Lady Langham; the Countess of Euston; Lady Catharine Howard; the Duchess of Rutland; Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick. Each portrait is accompanied by a short biographical sketch of the lady represented, from the pen of Mr. A. W. Tuer, the author of "Bartolozzi and his Works," which has been noticed in these pages. The work is carefully printed, and forms an exquisite gift-book for Christmas or the New Year.

Les Archives, la Bibliothèque et le Trésor de l'ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem à Malte. Par J. DELAVILLE LE ROULX. 8vo. Paris: Thorin.

M. DELAVILLE LE ROULX has just published in the Bibliothèque des écoles Françaises d'Athènes et de Rome a work which is of twofold interest: first, for the extremely valuable information it contains, and, secondly, for the promise the author gives us of further communications. It seems somewhat astonishing at first sight that the historical and archæological treasures of the order of Knights Hospitallers now preserved at Malta should never yet have been explored and studied as they deserve. Transferred in the first instance from the Holy Land to Rhodes, and then from Rhodes to the place where they may now be consulted, they are still relatively unknown. Bosio, Father Pauli, and Paciaudi during the last century, Hopf, M. de Rozière, and Count de Mas Latrie in our own times, had alone examined this rich collection of charters, diplomas, papal bulls, &c., before M. Delaville le Roulx undertook the gigantic task of studying them in detail and giving to the learned portion of the public an idea of the sources of information accessible to them. We use advisedly the epithet gigantic, for the library of the order of Malta comprises no less than fifty thousand volumes, and the archives, or record office, an extraordinary amount of MSS., out of which the following deserve especially to be mentioned: first, seventy volumes of original documents, papal bulls, royal letters, &c., &c., beginning as far back as 1107; secondly, three hundred and eighteen volumes belonging to the bullarium of the Grand Masters, since 1346; thirdly, fifty-one volumes containing papal bulls and briefs,

&c., &c.; in fact, it is not too much to say that the history of the seven centuries' struggle carried on by Christianity with Islamism passes here before our eyes and appeals to our notice.

M. Delaville le Roulx has not analysed all the pieces contained in this noble collection; but he has shown what he can do by describing with great fulness five of the volumes containing the diplomas drawn up in favour of the Knights Hospitallers by the Kings of Jerusalem and all the Christian princes settled in the Holy Land. By way of appendix he has published the inédites charters bearing upon the stay of the Knights in Palestine. These documents are one hundred in number, and extend from 1112 to 1290.

It is a remarkable circumstance that the archives of the Order of Saint John should still be almost intact; as early as the twelfth century the Knights took the greatest care of their records, and during their emigration from Palestine to Cyprus, then to Rhodes, and finally to Malta, the papers entrusted to their keeping have suffered very little loss or deterioration. Thus the series which we were alluding to just now is deficient in a few volumes only; but these were lost at a comparatively recent time; for Father Pauli, the monk who examined the archives in question before the end of the last century, still found them in their places, and even transcribed some of the most valuable. Before M. Delaville le Roulx undertook the studying and analysing of these documents M. de Mas Latrie had already drawn the attention of scholars to their importance for the history of the Crusades, and of the relations between Christianity and Islamism during the middle ages. Father Pauli in doing his work-very estimable in many respects-did not uniformly publish the most valuable charters, and his transcripts are often deplorably incorrect; he left unnoticed, besides, a great many archæological and palæographical curiosities which were worth pointing out, as, for instance, a charter with Greek subscriptions, &c., &c. Let us observe that as early as the year 1235 the use of the French language began to be adopted by the Chanceries of the Order of the Hospital, the Teutonic Knights and the Princes of Antioch; in 1250 the use became general, except, however, for the ecclesiastical courts, which constantly transacted all their business in Latin.

In the volume we are now reviewing the description of the charters and other documents preserved in the treasure-house of the order of St. John is followed by a brief account: first, of the library belonging to the order; second, of the souvenirs (tapestries, jewellery, ecclesiastical furniture, &c.) which are to be found in the various churches. A complete catalogue of these valuable relics would be impossible, especially in a locality like Malta, where almost every stone has some historical fact connected with it; M. Delaville le Roulx has therefore mentioned only the most striking, referring the student for further details to a MS. inventory preserved in the chapel library, and which bears the following title: Inventario dello stato degli ori, argenti, gioje et altro della maggior chiesa di S. Giovanni, capella della Bma. Verg. di Filermo, Parrochia di S. Antonio Abbate, ed altre cappelle ed oratorii dependenti della sacra religione.. This catalogue, drawn up in 1756 by order of the Holy Council, includes the enumeration of many objects of art now lost, and is especially valuable on account of the drawings and sketches it contains, done in water-colours, not very elegantly perhaps, but accurately and of the natural size.

Our author terminates his most valuable and interesting report by an account of what he purposes doing in connection with the subject to which

he has devoted his attention. Palestine, Rhodes, Malta: such is the threefold division of a complete history of the Order of St. John; the first is evidently the most important, on account of its bearing upon the history of the Crusades. M. Delaville le Roulx purposes giving a complete recueil of all the documents anterior to 1290 preserved at Malta, annotated and commented, comprising a careful analysis of the papers already published by Pauli and others. The second and third parts cannot be treated with the same minuteness as the first; for the Malta epoch, especially, a mere summary of the documents is all that is needed. Driven from the East," our author remarks, "the Knights have still, it is true, a glorious part to play; but the heroic period of their exploits is finished, and their actions are so well known from the general histories of the order and contemporary memoirs, that it is unnecessary to analyse singly and separately all the papers referring to that epoch.”

Such is the plan conceived by M. Delaville le Roulx, and of which the present volume is, so to say, the prospectus and the specimen. When carried out, the work will no doubt be one of the most important contributions to the history of the middle ages. Let us finally notice the list of all the grand masters and dignitaries of the order from 1099 to 1290, and also the copious alphabetical index which terminates the book. A Memoir of Chancellor Seton. By GEORGE SETON, Advocate, M.A. Oxon. London: William Blackwood & Sons. 1882.

WE must preface our remarks on the above with our sincere apologies for the delay in noticing it. One of the wisest acts of that good and wise King, James I. of Scotland, was his institution of the body known as the Court of Session; and certainly, if we scan the list of the members of this Court, no name appears of more distinction and mark than that of Alexander, Lord Urquhart and Earl of Dunfermline. Promoted from the presidency of the Sessions Court to the highest legal position in Scotland under the King, Seton may well be said to have had the guiding of the ship of State through troubled waters. Because he did not subscribe to Knox's doctrines, he was denounced by fierce Puritans as a "shaveling and priest," while the King was severely censured for allowing himself to be led by the advice of "a Romanist President... more meet to say masse in Salamanca, nor to beare office in Christian and reformed Commonwealls." But King James probably never had a more attached and faithful servant, though the honest independence of the Chancellor's character was never corrupted by royal favour, for in 1600, when James announced his ill-advised intention of raising an armed force to maintain his title to the English Crown, the President fearlessly opposed the will of the King, and mainly through his influence the rash desire was abandoned. James was too sensible of the value of this free-hearted subject to bear malice against him for his courageous conduct, for a little later we find Seton, then Lord Fyvie, entrusted with the care of the young Prince Charles. The author gives us specimens of the letters in which Lord Fyvie reports as to the well-being of his princely charge.

It was in 1604 that Seton was advanced to the Chancellorship, and in the following year he was created Earl of Dunfermline. His behaviour in his new dignities was exemplary; but it seems that he could never win the favour of the extreme Puritans, who then formed the bulk of the population of Scotland. Charges of treason were trumped up against him, to which he only returned an indignant denial; and, to the honour of the King be it said. James thoroughly believed in him. Full of years and honours he died at Pinkie, on the 16th June, 1622, "with the regreat of

all that knew him, and the love of his countrie." It is also with the regret of all that read it, that the author concludes this history of the life of this able and incorruptible ruler, this typical patriotic Scotchman, and most accomplished gentleman. The book is a pen-and-ink portrait of a great man in an important time, and will be of great value to all students of the Elizabethan period and that immediately following it. The volume contains some excellent illustrations of the various seats of the Chancellor, as also an engraving from the portrait of the Chancellor in possession of the Seton family.

Researches into the Lost Histories of America. By W. S. BLACKET. London: Trübner & Co. 1883.

THE wit who defined history to be "a lie with a circumstance," probably little suspected how much truth was in his sharp-edged saying. Certainly if the theories enunciated in the book before us will stand the test of learned investigation, we must cast our preconceived notions, as to a great portion of the annals of the ancient world, to the winds. It is sufficiently startling, at the outset, to be told that the ancients figuratively embodied their knowledge of the geography of the world, including America, in the names of the signs of the zodiac, and we should have been inclined to condemn the book as a mere quasi-historical romance, were it not for the vraisemblance with which the author contrives to invest the evidence in favour of his extraordinary theory. That America, or rather the extreme north of that continent, was known to the Scandinavians long before the date of the voyage of Columbus, has long been the opinion of many, but this work attempts to prove that not only many of the myths of Iceland and Norway, but also a great part of the Greek mythology, allegorically refers to the Atlantic Isle which our author identifies with America. For instance, Mr. Blacket makes the Titan Oceanus identical with North America personified. After that, it is comparatively a small thing to make South America the land of the demons, and to find the River Styx in the Gulf of Mexico. Very ingenious are some of the arguments with which the author supports the claims of his restoration of lost history, and if he does not absolutely prove his hypotheses, he at any rate shows great perceptive power and breadth of vision in the process of reasoning. A remarkable element in the writer's character is his patriotism, which is shown not only in his quietly appropriating to Yankeedom the myths of the Greeks and Hindoos, but also in his concluding words: "One thing is certain; it will add another star to the banner of the Stars and Stripes, when the literati of the United States shall produce a record of the world's past existence, in which America and the American people shall be put into their proper place in History," on which we shall make no other comment than the words of the Western preacher celebrated by Jules Verve," In the beginning was America."

THE Vienna people have been engaged in gathering up many interesting recollections of the year 1683. Recently the "Savoy Dragoons," one of the most famous and popular of Austrian Cavalry regiments, celebrated the 200th anniversary of receiving for colonel of the regiment the celebrated Prince Eugene, then a very young man, but who had just given good proof of his valour and soldierly qualities in the memorable campaign that had freed Vienna from the Turks.