Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

CONVERSATIONAL QUOTATIONS . There is an old , a very old , tale told of a . venerable lady who , after eeing the play of Hamlet for the first time , said : " It is a very good play , as plays go , but it is made up of quotations . " This good dame , although she was probably unaware of it , was acknowledging in a roundabout way , oerhaps , the indebtedness of our language to our national bard ; phrases , Fontpnces . and sometimes whole lines have been crystallised , as it were , into

colloquial English , and there are probably more quotations drawn from the works of Shakespeare than from those of any other author , ancient or moderii . It is not , however , with quotations which are used as quotations , and are consequently dignified with inverted commas , that we propose to deal , but rather with some of those phrases which , by constant use , have become incorporated in our mother tongue whose origin some of us might

not be able to indicate , off-hand , or which , by popular error , have been wrong ly assigned to this or that writer . For instance , Sam Weller , Pickwick Papers , did not originate the expression " wheels within wheels , " as many suppose ; he used it truly , but the idea is from the Bible ( Ezekiel x , 10 ) . Another Biblical expression , which would hardly be recognised as such at first sight , is " the skin of my teeth" ( Job xix ., 20 ) . We are

indebted to Cervantes for the proverb , " Honesty is the best-policy " ( Don Ouixote , part 2 , chap . 33 ) , while the familiar phrase , " Diamond cut diamond , " which , by the way , correctly is " Diamonds cut diamonds , " is due to Ford , the author of The Lover's Melancholy ( Act 1 , scene 1 ) . Althoug h Sheridan ' s well-known character , Mrs . Malaprop , did " own the soft impeachment ( The Rivals , Act 5 , scene 3 ) , we must

credit Shakespeare with the origin of the saying that " comparisons are odorous " ( so frequently attributed to that estimable lady ) , as he puts these words in the mouth of Dogberry ( Much ado about Nothing ) , Act 3 scene 5 . Ben Jonson ( Tale of a Tub , Act 4 , scene 3 ) , and Btiiler ( Hudibras , Part i , canto 1 , line 821 ) , both " smell a rat , " and to I . usser , the author of Five hundred points of Good Husbandly ) the

truism " Better late than never" is due . The great Napoleon may sneeringly have called us a *' nation of shopkeepers" ( line nation boutiquiire ) , and have expressed the opinion that " Providence is on the side of the big battalions ; " but the first is borrowed from Adam Smith ( Wealth of Nations , vol . 2 , published in 1775 , when Napoleon was a child ) , and the second is a plagiarism from Voltaire's letter to Mle . Riche , dated 6 th

February , 1770 ( " Dieu est toujours pour les gros bataillons ) . " Though I say it as shouldn ' t" is used in slightly altered form , by Beaumont and Fletcher , and afterwards quoted by Colley Cibber and Fielding . King Charles II . was of opinion that a Parliamentary debate , in his time , was " as good as a play . " ( It would be interesting to know what his merry Majesty would think of our legislators of to-day . ) For " murder will out , "

we must turn to Geoffrey Chaucer , who , in his quaint spelling , tells us , " Mordre wol out" ( The Nonnes Preestes Tale , line 1505 S ) . When we say we will " leave no stone unturned , " we are quoting the answer of the Delphic oracle to the inquiry of Polycrates , as to the best means of discovering ths treasure buried on the field of Platea , by Mardonius . To " make a virtue of necessity , " is from Chaucer ( The Rnightes Tale , line 3044 ) , but the

phrase is used also by Rabelais , Shakespeare , and Dryden . Few people , and surely no Scotchman , will require to be reminded that Burns is responsible for " Durance vile" and "Some wee short hour ayont the twal , " , or fail to acquiesce in his quotation ( from Pope ) "An honest man's the noblest work of God , " but they would , less easily , recognise Spenser ' s Faerie Oiieene ( Book 3 , canto 1 , stanzo 17 ) as the source of " through thick and thin , "

an expression , however , which is to be found in many subsequent writers . Shakespeare and Swift both bid us " tell the truth , and shame the devil ; " and a dozen authors—Shakespeare , Spenser , and Chaucer among them — hasten to assure us that " All that glitters is not gold , " From Byron ( a much quoted author ) we learn that " truth is stranger than fiction " ( " Don Juan , " canto 14 , stanza iS ) , and in the same poem we find " The tocsin of

the soul—the dinner bell " ( canto 5 , stanza 49 ) . " Procrastination is the thief of time" occurs in Young ' s Night Thoughts—Night 1 , line 393 . " Fresh woods and pastures new " is Milton ' s Lycidas ( line 193 ) , as also is the phrase " that old man eloquent , " that has been so frequently applied to Mr . Gladstone ( Sonnets— " To the Lady Margaret Ley . " ) Shakespeare makes Hostess Quickly say that buily Sir John Falstaff has " eaten her out of house and home" ( Henry IV ., part 2 , act 2 , scene 1 ) , and we have the

unimpeachable authority of the same great writer for stating " that the devil can quote ( cite ) Scripture for his purpose " ( Merchant of Venice , act 1 , scene 3 ) . Dryden announces that " men are but children of a larger Rrowth" ( All for Love , act 4 , scene 1 ) , and bids us remember that " delays are dangerous " ( Tyrannic Love , act 1 , sc . 1 . ) " Over the hills , and faraway , " is to be found in Gay ' s Beggar ' s Opera ( act i , sc . i ) , and the song , to whose welcome tune the dinner is ushered in at most naval and military messes—

Science, Art, And The Drama.

" Oh ! the roast beef of Old England "—is from the pen of Henry Fielding . Gray ' s Elegy in a Country Churchyard is , perhaps , the most frequently quoted poem , though in the language it is like the old lady ' s Hamlet ^ before referred to— " made up of quotations . " " Where ignorance is bliss , ' tis folly to be wise , " is found in another poem by the same author ( On a Distant Prospect of Eton College , stanza 10 ) . " Man wants but little here below ,

nor wants that little long , " must be credited to Oliver Goldsmith ( The Hermit , stanza 8 ) ; but the same idea is to be found in Young's Night Thoughts ( Night 4 , line 118 ) . " 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view" was written by Thomas Campbell ( Pleasures of Hope , part 1 , line 7 ) , and Keat ' s Endymion contains the oft-quoted line— " A thing of beauty is a joy for ever "—line 1 . To find the origin of the

phrase , " to turn over a new leaf , " we must refer to Middleton s Anything for a Quiet Life ( Act 3 , scene 3 ) , and the title of this same play , by the way , is not an altogether unfamiliar expression . We have sufficiently shown that many of the phrases " familiar in our mouths as household words" ( Henry V ., Act 4 , scene 3 ) are of most respectable ancestry , and that , in our ordinary conversation , we often quote ( unconsciously , perhaps )

some of the best writers of times gone by . We will conclude with a short anecdote anent quotation . Shakespeare has often been credited with knowing everything , and a Shakesperian enthusiast once stated in company that somewhere or other in his writings a quotation could be found suitable for every subject in our present times . One of his hearers , thinking to

nonplus him , mentioned photography and the electric telegraph , both children of the 19 th century . For photography the challenger replied , " The glorious sun stops in his course , and plays the alchemist , " King John ( Act 3 , scene 1 ); and for the electric telegraph , " I'll put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes " ( Midsummer Night ' s Dream , Act 2 , scene 1 . )

THE DORE GALLERY . Among the recent additions to this gallery is an exhibition of Black and White drawings of the present war in South Africa , originals from which appeared from time to lime in the illustrations of the Graphic . The varied scenes are of absorbing interest , and are the work of artistic correspondents , who were eye witnesses of the stirring incidents depicted . There are also American Caricatures by Messrs . Crichton , Bowman , and Devonport , celebrated cartoonists on the leading events of the day from an

American point of view . They are very clever pen and ink sketches , rapidly dashed off in a most effective style . Although all are masterly productions , we prefer those of A . T . Crichton . We would draw attention to Nos . 4 , 8 , 13 , 15 , 18 , 22 ; by R . C . Bowman , Nos . 25 , 26 , 30 , 32 ; by H . Davenport , Nos . 38 , 40 , 42 , 43 . The extraordinary natural curiosity—the stone profile of Our Saviour—which has been noticed by us in a previous issue , may still be seen at the Dore Gallery .

THE GRAFTON GALLERIES , W . There is an exhibition of South African Pictures by R . Gwelo Goodman , which will well repay a visit . They not only evince good artistic work , but many are of present historic interest . We noticed views of Ladysmith and its vicinity ' , Durban , Johannesburg , Cape Town Harbour and Table Mountain , Lion's Head , near Cape Town , also several charming spots in Madeira , such as Funchal and its harbour , garden scenery , vinery , & c . In the large galleries is a collection of pictures . " Exhibition of Fair

Women and other Portraits , " by C . Goldsborough Anderson , many of them are full lengths . We would commend Nos . 1 , Lady Avebury ; 6 , The Viscountess Maitland ; 15 , Mrs . Philip Martineau ; 20 , Mrs . Cazenove ; 21 , Mrs . Alfred Harmsworth ; 23 , " A Maid of Kent ; " 32 , Lucy Countess of Egmont ; 48 , The Honble . Mrs . Shelley ; 55 , Major Wm . Fox Pitt ; 57 , Cardinal Manning . In addition to those we have selected , there are many I others of great artistic merit .

APOLLO THEATRE , In the new and handsome theatre which has been opened in Shaftesbury Avenue , Mr . Martin Harvey has revived the play of " The Only Way , " which had so long and successful a run at the Prince of Wales ' s Theatre . The piece is a free adaptation from Charles Dickens' " Tale of Two Cities . " It is well calculated to appeal to our human sympathies . The story is so well known that we need not enter into the details of the plot . The character of Sydney Carton is well conceived and carried out by Mr . Martin

Harvey . We are inclined to think that his present role is the best he has yet undertaken ; the detp subdued pathos which he evinces invests it with an absorbing interest . Mr . Sydney Valentine , Mr . Wm . Haviland , and Mr . Chas . Lander effectively represent Defarge , Dr . Manette , and Charles Darnay , whilst Lucie Manette and Mimi are played with great feeling by Misses Suzanne Sheldon and N . de Silva . Those who have not seen " The Only Way , " should do so ere it is withdrawn .

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ROYALMASONICINSTITUTIONFORBOYS, WOOD GREEN , LONDON , N . Office , 6 , Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C . President H . R . H . THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT , K . G ., dec , -dec , & c * 9 dec , IVI . W . G . IVI . THE 103 KI > ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL WILL 1110 I 1 I 0 IJJ AT Till * : CRYSTAL PALACE SYDENHAM , S . E ., on WEDNESDAY , at Six o ' clock , 26 th JUNE , 1901 , UXIJI . lt TIIK UlSTIXriUISlIKI ) JMil . SI DKXCY OK TheRightHon.W.W.BRAMSTONBEACH,M.P. ( Prov . G . M . Hampshire and Isle of Wight ) , Trustee of the Institution . IL * Services of Ladies and Brethren as Stewards on tin ' s important occasion are earnesil y solicited , and will lie gratefully acknowledged . The Brethren and Ladies will dine together at ( ho same dihles , •' . la table d'lwle . Visitors' Tickets , including Rail ( First-class Return ) , London to the Palace Hi gh Level Station and Admission : — Brethren ... ... ... 25 / - Ladies ... ... ... 20 / - ¦ Hie Royal Naval and Military Exhibition and other Special attractions will be open to the Visilors at tin ' s Festival . J . MORRISON McLEOD ( Vice-Patron ) , Hon . Sec . to Board of Stewards .