Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
East, West, And South.
from a large bronze incense-burner placed before an altar at the end , on which stood black and red tablets , telling in letters of gold , the virtues , rank and ancestry of the departed . The flickering torchlight served to heighten the mysterious impressiveness of the scene . Were we in some
place under a spell , such as that to Avhich Aladdin descended ; or such as the Bedaween say yet sleeps Avith Shedad the mighty , in the great desert ; or Avere Ave still in the Avorking world , > vhose cool night air refreshed us on emerging from the pungent aroma of this dwelling of the dead ?
We left , and the ponderous bolts were shot back into their sockets , Avhich yet had not kept sacred the privacy of their owner from foreign eyes . We entered another mansion , and Avere confronted on the threshold by two monstrous figures , of hideous and terrible aspect , glaring
menacingly at us , holding naked swords . The same sarcophagus , mute guards , banners , incense and ancestral tablets , with but slight variety of colouring and symbolism . On another occasion Ave should have been eager to continue our visits until Ave had vieAved a number of these
wondrous spectacles ; but sustained mental excitement had succumbed to physical fatigue . We derived but dazed impressions , forced as they Avere upon wearied cerebra ; the two young ladies of our party Avere worn out , so Ave turned , yet Avith a half reluctance , to retrace our steps .
The " City of the Dead " is situate outside the East Gate of Canton . Every Chinaman cherishes a rooted devotional yearning , that his bones may be laid Avith the remains of his forefathers in his ancestral earth : a foreign grave has more terror for him than death . The latter is but the
portal of transition to a state better or Avorse m strict ratio to his works ; the former implies a severance of ties , a break of ancestral connection , a divorcement from the influences Avhich bare and reared him , and Avith Avhich he is taught that he will remain " enrapport" Avhen he shall " have shuffled oil' this mortal coil . " This sentiment
is at the root of the discontent expressed by the besttreated Coolies in our West Indian possessions ; during years of thrift they may save sufficient to repatriate themselves , but the horror of the fear of being buried in a distant land Aveighs with them like Nostalgia Avith the
SAviss . A fleet of vessels is engaged in a lucrative and increasing carrying traffic from San Fransisco to the ports of China , and the freight they bear consists of thousands of dead Chinamen , each in his unwieldy coffin , for certificated interment by surviving relatives
in his native earth . Of the Avealthy Avho die m the great city , numbers have come from many provinces of the large Empire : this is the place Avhere , on the demise of one of them , a house is rented and his body laid together with the symbols of his attributes and insignia , until his
distant relatives can arrange for conveyance , along some branch of the great canal system of China , to his childhood ' s home . The guards are Avooden , lifelike in execution ; the hideous figures those of Genii usually seen Avithinthe porches of the Temples . Our Mentor Avas the well known and
deservedly respected Archdeacon Grey , whose collection of Chinese art ( over which I passed pleasant hours in the quiet parsonage at Sha-Meen ) is UOAV familiar to visitors of
the Crystal Palace ; the oldest foreign resident of Canton ; the kindest host and most instructive guide through tho mazes of a city with whose every corner he is familiar , that the fortunate traveller could desire . WALTER SPENCER .
ROYAL ALUEUT HALL COKCEKTS . —St . David ' s Day will be celebrated by a Welsh Festival Concert at the Royal Albert Hall , on which occasion the members of the Principality residing in London and the suburbs will have a thoroughly national programme presented to them . Miss Edith Wynne , Miss Lizzie Evans , Bliss Marian Williams , Miss Mary Davies , Madame Patey , Mr . Edward Lloyd , Mr . Ap
Herbert and Mr . Lewis Thomas are announced as vocalists ; Miss Bessie M . Waugh , Mr . W . H . Thomas and Mr . Brinley Richards presiding at the pianoforte . A Band of Harps , under the direction of Mr . John Thomas , will also assist , and tho Part-Song Choir of the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society , under Mr . Barnby ' s direction ,
will contribute Welsh Choruses and Part-Songs . Ihe next Popular Ballad Concert at the Royal Albeit Hall is to take place on Saturday evening the 27 th inst ., with Madame Lemmens-Sherrington , Miss Edith Wynne , Miss Antoinette Sterling , Mr . Edward Lloyd and Mr . Thurley Bealc as vocalists .
Dt Ei RI-E ' S IsTnBjfATioirAL PLAVIJTB C . VKBS .-- I ' oi'tmitrf of the Royalty of Europe . Post free , - ' s 6 il , W , W . Moryuii , 07 Biirbitaii , Lsmlyii , £ , ' . ' %
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended tor Beview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . — : o : — Shakespeare Commentaries . By Dr . G . G . Gervinus , Professor at Heidelberg . Translated , under the author ' s superintendence , by F . E . Bunnett . Now . Edition , revised by the Translator . London : Smith , Elder and Co ., 15 Waterloo-place .
SECOND NOTICE . SHAKESPEARE ' S dramatic poetry is classed , by Dr . Gervinus , under threo heads . The first includes Titus Andronicus and Pericles , the threo parts of Henry VI ., the Comedy of Errors , and Taming of the Shrew . The second embraces I . —Love-plays , that is , " those of an essentially erotic purport , the central point of which is formed by
the passions and the deeds of love , "—These are The Two Gentlemen of Verona , Love ' s Labour ' s Lost , All ' s Well that Ends Well , Midsummer Night's Dream , Romeo and Juliet—and The Merchant of Venice ; II . —Historical plays , including all save one ( Henry VIII . ) which Shakspeare produced after Henry VI .: III . —Comedies , The Merry Wives of Windsor , As You Like It , Much Ado about Nothing ,
and Twelth Night ; IV . —Sonnets . The third period comprises , Measure for Measure , Cymbeline , The Tempest , The Winter ' s Tale ; eight tragedies , Othello , Hamlet , Macbeth , King Lear , & c . ; Troilus and Cressida ; and the remaining historical play , Henry VIII . To give a just idea of the results of the author ' s labours in his synopses of these dramas , covering , as they necessarily do , so wide a field of
study and research , were well-nigh impossible in the narrow limits of a review . We must leave it to our readers to minutely judge for themselves of the value of these labours , nor have we the slightest mis . giving as to the result of the examination , which cannot be otherwise than in the highest degree favourable . The work is certainly a bulky one , and in parts , perhaps , our readers will find the
business of studying it somewhat laborious . The criticisms deal with pretty nearly everything that is worth criticising , descending even to the minutest points of detail , though often these so-called minor points throw infinite light upon the character and purpose of tho author . Unusual patience is necessary , in order to master such elaborate theses , and wc almost question if many will be found to
exhibit this patience . Or , if they possess it , it is more than probable that the time at their disposal for studies so attractive , and so exacting , will prove insufficient . However this may be , our further remarks will be limited to illustrations of the author ' s style of handling his subject , and for this purpose we shall , as suggested last week , select one or more dramas which seem likely to convey an adequate
idea of theso commentaries . Though tho first period , embracing seven plays , cannot fail to bo interesting , as showing the early efforts of Shakespeare in dramatic literature—the efforts he made when he was as yet " more or less biassed by tho peculiarities" of the then condition of dramatic poetry as described in the preceding chapter on " The Stage "—when , in
fact , he was as yet only " a subject scholar , " and before he had disengaged himself " from the want of design , and from the harshness and rudeness of their productions " —though , we repeat , the reader will be sure to find in these critical inquiries much that will prove attractive reading , we have no intention of dwelling upon this portion of the work . Perhaps , however , the following contemporary testi .
mony , which is quoted towards the end of the chapter in Henry VI . to the excellence of Shakespeare , " as a poet , an actor , and a man , " may bo worth reproducing . Greene , whom the author considers to have been the first author of the last two parts of Henry VI ., dying in 1592 , left a letter behind him , which his friend Chettle published the same year . In this letter Greene admonishes Marlow , Lodge , and
Peele in these words : — " Base minded men all three of you , if by my misery ye be not warned ; for unto none of you , like me , sought these burs to cleave ; those puppets , I mean , that speak from our months , those antieks garnished in our colours . Is it not strange that I to whom they have all been beholding ; is it not like that you , to whom they have all been beholding , shall ( were ye in that case that I am
now ) be both of them at once forsaken ? Yes , trust them not ! for there is an upstart crow , beautified with our feathers , that with his " Tiger ' s heart wrapped in a player ' s hide , " supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you ; and , being an absolute Johannes Factotum , is , in his own conceit , the only Shakescene in a country . Oh ! that I might entreat your rare wits to be
employed in more profitable courses , and let these apes imitate your past excellence , and never more acquaint them with your admirable inventions . " Chettle afterwards appears to have apologised , as regards Shakespeare , for publishing the letter containing the above , in a tract entitled " Kind-heart's Dream . " It states " that he was acquainted with none of them ; that he cared not if he ever was
acquainted with one of them , and that he had not spared another at the time as much as he had wished that he had . For he has himself seen that his demeanonr was no less civil than he was distinguished in his art . " Besides , he adds , " Divers of worship have reported his uprighteness of dealing , which argues his honesty and his facetious grace in writing , that approves his arts . "
Towards the end of his sketch of Love ' s Labour ' s Lost the author traces a connection between the humorous character introduced into so many of his plays and Shakespeare ' s own nature . The poet dill not , however , to the same extent as the German Romanticists , conceive or idealise these characters . " They rest , " saya Gervinus , " upon a common human basis ; and at the same time upon a
conventional one as to time and place . They hinge especially upon the play and perversion of words ; and this is the foundation for wit com . mon to every age . " In Shakespeare the conventional peculiarity is "the defiuite form in which this word-wit appeal's . This form was cultivated among the English people according to an established custom , which invested jocose conversation with the charaoter of a regular battle . " Iu the case oi this partigular play , the , ujaajjej' Jy
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
East, West, And South.
from a large bronze incense-burner placed before an altar at the end , on which stood black and red tablets , telling in letters of gold , the virtues , rank and ancestry of the departed . The flickering torchlight served to heighten the mysterious impressiveness of the scene . Were we in some
place under a spell , such as that to Avhich Aladdin descended ; or such as the Bedaween say yet sleeps Avith Shedad the mighty , in the great desert ; or Avere Ave still in the Avorking world , > vhose cool night air refreshed us on emerging from the pungent aroma of this dwelling of the dead ?
We left , and the ponderous bolts were shot back into their sockets , Avhich yet had not kept sacred the privacy of their owner from foreign eyes . We entered another mansion , and Avere confronted on the threshold by two monstrous figures , of hideous and terrible aspect , glaring
menacingly at us , holding naked swords . The same sarcophagus , mute guards , banners , incense and ancestral tablets , with but slight variety of colouring and symbolism . On another occasion Ave should have been eager to continue our visits until Ave had vieAved a number of these
wondrous spectacles ; but sustained mental excitement had succumbed to physical fatigue . We derived but dazed impressions , forced as they Avere upon wearied cerebra ; the two young ladies of our party Avere worn out , so Ave turned , yet Avith a half reluctance , to retrace our steps .
The " City of the Dead " is situate outside the East Gate of Canton . Every Chinaman cherishes a rooted devotional yearning , that his bones may be laid Avith the remains of his forefathers in his ancestral earth : a foreign grave has more terror for him than death . The latter is but the
portal of transition to a state better or Avorse m strict ratio to his works ; the former implies a severance of ties , a break of ancestral connection , a divorcement from the influences Avhich bare and reared him , and Avith Avhich he is taught that he will remain " enrapport" Avhen he shall " have shuffled oil' this mortal coil . " This sentiment
is at the root of the discontent expressed by the besttreated Coolies in our West Indian possessions ; during years of thrift they may save sufficient to repatriate themselves , but the horror of the fear of being buried in a distant land Aveighs with them like Nostalgia Avith the
SAviss . A fleet of vessels is engaged in a lucrative and increasing carrying traffic from San Fransisco to the ports of China , and the freight they bear consists of thousands of dead Chinamen , each in his unwieldy coffin , for certificated interment by surviving relatives
in his native earth . Of the Avealthy Avho die m the great city , numbers have come from many provinces of the large Empire : this is the place Avhere , on the demise of one of them , a house is rented and his body laid together with the symbols of his attributes and insignia , until his
distant relatives can arrange for conveyance , along some branch of the great canal system of China , to his childhood ' s home . The guards are Avooden , lifelike in execution ; the hideous figures those of Genii usually seen Avithinthe porches of the Temples . Our Mentor Avas the well known and
deservedly respected Archdeacon Grey , whose collection of Chinese art ( over which I passed pleasant hours in the quiet parsonage at Sha-Meen ) is UOAV familiar to visitors of
the Crystal Palace ; the oldest foreign resident of Canton ; the kindest host and most instructive guide through tho mazes of a city with whose every corner he is familiar , that the fortunate traveller could desire . WALTER SPENCER .
ROYAL ALUEUT HALL COKCEKTS . —St . David ' s Day will be celebrated by a Welsh Festival Concert at the Royal Albert Hall , on which occasion the members of the Principality residing in London and the suburbs will have a thoroughly national programme presented to them . Miss Edith Wynne , Miss Lizzie Evans , Bliss Marian Williams , Miss Mary Davies , Madame Patey , Mr . Edward Lloyd , Mr . Ap
Herbert and Mr . Lewis Thomas are announced as vocalists ; Miss Bessie M . Waugh , Mr . W . H . Thomas and Mr . Brinley Richards presiding at the pianoforte . A Band of Harps , under the direction of Mr . John Thomas , will also assist , and tho Part-Song Choir of the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society , under Mr . Barnby ' s direction ,
will contribute Welsh Choruses and Part-Songs . Ihe next Popular Ballad Concert at the Royal Albeit Hall is to take place on Saturday evening the 27 th inst ., with Madame Lemmens-Sherrington , Miss Edith Wynne , Miss Antoinette Sterling , Mr . Edward Lloyd and Mr . Thurley Bealc as vocalists .
Dt Ei RI-E ' S IsTnBjfATioirAL PLAVIJTB C . VKBS .-- I ' oi'tmitrf of the Royalty of Europe . Post free , - ' s 6 il , W , W . Moryuii , 07 Biirbitaii , Lsmlyii , £ , ' . ' %
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended tor Beview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . — : o : — Shakespeare Commentaries . By Dr . G . G . Gervinus , Professor at Heidelberg . Translated , under the author ' s superintendence , by F . E . Bunnett . Now . Edition , revised by the Translator . London : Smith , Elder and Co ., 15 Waterloo-place .
SECOND NOTICE . SHAKESPEARE ' S dramatic poetry is classed , by Dr . Gervinus , under threo heads . The first includes Titus Andronicus and Pericles , the threo parts of Henry VI ., the Comedy of Errors , and Taming of the Shrew . The second embraces I . —Love-plays , that is , " those of an essentially erotic purport , the central point of which is formed by
the passions and the deeds of love , "—These are The Two Gentlemen of Verona , Love ' s Labour ' s Lost , All ' s Well that Ends Well , Midsummer Night's Dream , Romeo and Juliet—and The Merchant of Venice ; II . —Historical plays , including all save one ( Henry VIII . ) which Shakspeare produced after Henry VI .: III . —Comedies , The Merry Wives of Windsor , As You Like It , Much Ado about Nothing ,
and Twelth Night ; IV . —Sonnets . The third period comprises , Measure for Measure , Cymbeline , The Tempest , The Winter ' s Tale ; eight tragedies , Othello , Hamlet , Macbeth , King Lear , & c . ; Troilus and Cressida ; and the remaining historical play , Henry VIII . To give a just idea of the results of the author ' s labours in his synopses of these dramas , covering , as they necessarily do , so wide a field of
study and research , were well-nigh impossible in the narrow limits of a review . We must leave it to our readers to minutely judge for themselves of the value of these labours , nor have we the slightest mis . giving as to the result of the examination , which cannot be otherwise than in the highest degree favourable . The work is certainly a bulky one , and in parts , perhaps , our readers will find the
business of studying it somewhat laborious . The criticisms deal with pretty nearly everything that is worth criticising , descending even to the minutest points of detail , though often these so-called minor points throw infinite light upon the character and purpose of tho author . Unusual patience is necessary , in order to master such elaborate theses , and wc almost question if many will be found to
exhibit this patience . Or , if they possess it , it is more than probable that the time at their disposal for studies so attractive , and so exacting , will prove insufficient . However this may be , our further remarks will be limited to illustrations of the author ' s style of handling his subject , and for this purpose we shall , as suggested last week , select one or more dramas which seem likely to convey an adequate
idea of theso commentaries . Though tho first period , embracing seven plays , cannot fail to bo interesting , as showing the early efforts of Shakespeare in dramatic literature—the efforts he made when he was as yet " more or less biassed by tho peculiarities" of the then condition of dramatic poetry as described in the preceding chapter on " The Stage "—when , in
fact , he was as yet only " a subject scholar , " and before he had disengaged himself " from the want of design , and from the harshness and rudeness of their productions " —though , we repeat , the reader will be sure to find in these critical inquiries much that will prove attractive reading , we have no intention of dwelling upon this portion of the work . Perhaps , however , the following contemporary testi .
mony , which is quoted towards the end of the chapter in Henry VI . to the excellence of Shakespeare , " as a poet , an actor , and a man , " may bo worth reproducing . Greene , whom the author considers to have been the first author of the last two parts of Henry VI ., dying in 1592 , left a letter behind him , which his friend Chettle published the same year . In this letter Greene admonishes Marlow , Lodge , and
Peele in these words : — " Base minded men all three of you , if by my misery ye be not warned ; for unto none of you , like me , sought these burs to cleave ; those puppets , I mean , that speak from our months , those antieks garnished in our colours . Is it not strange that I to whom they have all been beholding ; is it not like that you , to whom they have all been beholding , shall ( were ye in that case that I am
now ) be both of them at once forsaken ? Yes , trust them not ! for there is an upstart crow , beautified with our feathers , that with his " Tiger ' s heart wrapped in a player ' s hide , " supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you ; and , being an absolute Johannes Factotum , is , in his own conceit , the only Shakescene in a country . Oh ! that I might entreat your rare wits to be
employed in more profitable courses , and let these apes imitate your past excellence , and never more acquaint them with your admirable inventions . " Chettle afterwards appears to have apologised , as regards Shakespeare , for publishing the letter containing the above , in a tract entitled " Kind-heart's Dream . " It states " that he was acquainted with none of them ; that he cared not if he ever was
acquainted with one of them , and that he had not spared another at the time as much as he had wished that he had . For he has himself seen that his demeanonr was no less civil than he was distinguished in his art . " Besides , he adds , " Divers of worship have reported his uprighteness of dealing , which argues his honesty and his facetious grace in writing , that approves his arts . "
Towards the end of his sketch of Love ' s Labour ' s Lost the author traces a connection between the humorous character introduced into so many of his plays and Shakespeare ' s own nature . The poet dill not , however , to the same extent as the German Romanticists , conceive or idealise these characters . " They rest , " saya Gervinus , " upon a common human basis ; and at the same time upon a
conventional one as to time and place . They hinge especially upon the play and perversion of words ; and this is the foundation for wit com . mon to every age . " In Shakespeare the conventional peculiarity is "the defiuite form in which this word-wit appeal's . This form was cultivated among the English people according to an established custom , which invested jocose conversation with the charaoter of a regular battle . " Iu the case oi this partigular play , the , ujaajjej' Jy