Reviews.

Reviews .

H 1 ST 0 IRE D'UNE CRIME ( HISTORY OF A CRIME ) . By VICTOR Huoo . We confess that , except as a " piece d ' occasion , " a political manifesto , with which we have nothing to do , we cannot understand why this work was written . As a history of a remarkable episode it is utterly worthless ; as a record of a momentous epoch in the annals of France it is

utterly unreliable . As some careful and unimpassioned reviewers , both in the Times and Guardian , have pointed out , it deals too much with " pure imagination , " ton Utile with stem reality , too often with positive fictions , too seldom with positive truth . It gives us neither a safe nor trustworthy account cf persons or events , of the motives of the actors , of the causes of the scenes which that ornate writer depicts in such a flowing style and with such a

decorative pen . In fact , the work is the personification , the ideafication of the writer himself , Victor Hugo . As we read it , we learn much we never knew before—of acts , of words , of doughty deeds , of magnificent speeches , which contemporaneous literature , coldly critical , or austerely neglectful , has left in the " poussiere " of the Boulevards , or the callous neglect of unpardonable silence . We think of a poetic refrain which runs thus" Is it true , think you ? " —miller ' s Tale .

"Aye here such valorous deeds were done As ne ' er was done before , Aye here the reddest wreath was won That ever Gallia wore . " The poetic and imaginative words of Victor Hugo are much too transce-ndental for us sober-minded , practical , commonplace Englishmen , and wc can hardly enter at all into the

grandeur of his conceptions , much less the expansive and wondrous power of his language and his descriptions . We cannot recommend his work either to the admiration of the old , or the contentment of the young . It is far too sensational and , to say the truth , too grotesque for us . It is in fact only Victor Hugo ' s idea and view , anel romantic description of persons and events , and cannot be accepted ,

either as realistic or authoritative in any particular . We fancy that posterity , far more fair and critical , less excited and prejudiced , will pass a more lenient judgment over the principal character in the transactions thus recorded , despite all that word-painting of incrimination anil disparagement with which he is surrounded from first to last

in the latest romance of Victor Hugo . That Victor I lego always writes granelly and poetically we all know , and those who admire his style of writing will find much to applaud and commend , which the sterner critic must conelemn , the true historiographer must conscientiously disavow .

THE EXPORTERS' DIRECTORY , Australian-avenue , E . C , is a very useful work for those who are interested in the export trade . We commend its use to all our brethren who are engaged in commerce , especially with our colonies and foreign parts . This work ought to be in every counting-house .

THE LION OF ENGLAND AND THE TURKISH WOLF , & c . W . H . Guest , 30 , Paternoster-row . This is one of a very numerous class of books just now , proceeding on the assumption that we Anglo-Saxons are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel . As we cannot admit such an assumption on any ground , ethnological , philological , or in fact any " ology" at all , we regret to say that we neither see its meaning , or discover its opportuneness .

The improved relations of France and Germany are likely to be shown in music as well as art , for M . Escudier of the Paris Italiens is in treaty for Herr Wagner's Lohengrin . It is to be hoped that the manager's efforts to introduce Wagnerian compositions will prove less disastrous than M . Paselcloup's similar attempt at the Concerts Populaires during the Empire , which resulted in

a signal failure . Perhaps , however , Hcrr Wagner ' s adherents will come from Germany in a body to ensure success , as , according to Mayfair , they are in the habit of travelling consielerable distances in order to attend their master ' s operas . Thus on Sunday next 200 members of the Berlin - 'Wagner Ven in" will proceed to Schwerin by express train to be present at the performance of the

" Walkure . " They start at 9 a . m . from Berlin , and are expected to arrive at 1 p . m . in Schwerin . They will find dinner prepared for them at the Hotel du Nord . The opera begins at 3 p . m ., and is to end at 10 p . m . They will have only an hour for refreshments , for at 11 p . m . the special train starts on its return journey to the Prussian capital , where it is due at 3 a . m . A YACHTIDG CRUISE . —The Whitehall Review

is glad to see that the Rev . J . Nelson Palmer has beaten an extortionate tug owner in the Portsmouth County Court . During the Southsea Regatta last summer , the Dolphin , Bro . Palmer ' s yacht , showed her ensign at the mast-head ( not reversely ) as a signal for a tag . The wind was blowing fresh at the time . The Robin Hood tug towed her off , Bro . Palmer offered £ 2 for towage anel the tug owner tried

to claim £ 40 for salvage . He endeavoured to make out that the yacht's ensign at the mast-head was a signal of distress , and that she would have gone ashore but for help . The £ 2 had been paid into Court , and forthis amount only did the County Court Judge give judgement . The Plaintiff ,

therefore finds himself let in for the full costs upon the higher scale . He will not make much by his venture . Yacht owners are expected to pay " through the nose " by all the harpies at yachting stations . For once we are glad to see a biter bit , and congratulate Mr . Palmer on his victory .

The directors of the Bank of England met on Thursday , and advanced the rate of discount from 2 to 3 Per cent .

"The Monde Maconnique."

"THE MONDE MACONNIQUE . "

( Communi que ^

We have received and read the March number of this French Masonic journal with much interest . Bro . Thevenot ' s letter to Bro . Bagary is an able resume of past French Masonic history , and we shall try and find a place for it in the pages , ( pace the editor , ) of the Masonic

Magazine . Bro . Grimaux , like other French writers , cannot comprehend why we in England find fault with the action of the French Grand Orient . Let us try and see if we can make them realise alike our views and our position in respect cf th s " vexata quaistio . " If he will look back to the pages of the Ereemason , he will see that we have always carefully pointed out what is

our real complaint in England , which has been publicly endorsed and expressed by Grand Lodge . It is not that the French Grand Orient has taken out a profession of faith from the Constitutions simply , because we have none in our own wise code of Hws . It is not that the Grand Orient professes " absolute toleration , " because though all do not realize the validity or even the honesty

( excuse us , Bro . Grimaux ) , of such a plea in the present situation of affairs in France , no one body in the world so adheres to " absolute toleration " as wc understand it , as the Grand Lodge of England . But what we do complain of is this , that the French Grand Orient having made a declaration of such belief in its Constitutions in accordance with Cosmopolitan

Freemasonry , has erased it , and has not replaced it elsewherg , and so far as the public is concerned utterly repudiates it . Such a profession might lnve been wrongly placed where it was , but it outfit to appear somewhere-, ( as with us ) , and it ought not to be denied to be the " common law , " the standing profession of French Freemasonry . But , on the contrary , not only is there now no

such an authoritative expression anywhere , in any form , but we are distinctly told , by Bro . Caubet , that despite the theory of " absolute toleration , " the French Granei Orient is only culpable of wishing to open the doors of Masonry to those who cannot acknowledge belief in God , and henceforth , in consequence , ( which is the " crux " of the whole matter ) , an absolute atheist can le admitted knowingly , as

such , into French freemasonry . An atheist might obtain admission into English Freemasonry through a " suppressio veri , " but he could not and would not be admitted into any English lodge as an avowed atheist . We hope that Bro . Grimaux sees what our position is , and will giire us credit for honesty of belief , and loyal attachment to our well-known principles . If in the Freemason we

have spoken earnestly and clearly , it is because we have felt deeply the present untoward position of affairs in France , in our humble appreciation of them ; and wc assure those of our French brethren who agree with the Grand Orient , that in all we have asserted and in all we have avowed , we have been actuated solely by a sincere desire for the honour and prosperity of French Freemasonry .

Freemasonry In India.

FREEMASONRY IN INDIA .

A most interesting ceremony took place in the Bangalore Lodge , 1043 , on the 22 nd February . Through the untiring exertions of several earnest and zealous brethren , the District Grand Master of Madras was some time ago moved to grant a provisional warrant for the establishment of a lodge at Mysore . In consequence of various

unforeseen circumstances , but more particularly of the famine , which has so severely taxed the energies > and time of all our countrymen and brethren in this province , opportunity had been wanting for a sufficient number of the rulers in the Craft to proceed to open this new lodge at Mysore . It happening , however , that the worthy and distinguished brother who had been selected to preside over the lodge ,

finding himself ordered to and detaineel in Bangalore , a special dispensation was obtained , and by command of the R . W . the District Grand Master , Past Master Bro . Balfour Cockburn , now ruling the Bangalore Lodge , was directed to place the W . M . elect in the chair of K . S . A very numerous gathering of the brethren assembled in answer to the summons , and in the presence of nearly all the

Past Masters of the lodge . Bro . John Hill M'Cally Hayes was duly installed . After labour , the brethren repaired to the dining-room of the Masonic Hall , where a sumptuous banquet had been provided by the liberality of the newly-installed W . M . In the course of the evening several very effective speeches were made by Past Master Bro . Nepean Smith , Past Master Bro . J . W . Hayes , sen ., Past

Master Bro . Pratt , Past Master Bro . Alfred Hayes , and others . In proposing the toast of the evening Past Master Bro . Balfour Cockburn took occasion to pass a high eulogium , not only in W . M . M . Cally Hayes , but also on his father , Past Master J . W . Hayes , to whose great exertions the establishment of this new lodge was in no small degree due . He reminded the W . M . that he was

about to preside over a lodge opened in a perfectly new and untried district , and not only in India , but at home in England , he would be lcoked upon as a pioneer of the Craft , and that his lodge might , if he carried out the genuine tenets and principles of the Order , eventually become the parent of many other lodges in that district . The town of Mysore had , in all probability , a great

future before it ; in a few years the province of Mysore would be handed over to the care and guidance of the great young Rajah , who was now being so carefully educated and brought up by the English Government , and it was reasonably to be expected that under the wise sway and rule of this young Prince , Mysore would become in a

very few short years one of the most important towns in Southern India . The "Mysore Lodge" will now be opened without delay , and it is expected that Bro . Balfour Cockburn will be deputed to consecrate and open it . The hot weather , however , having set in with unusual fierceness , some few weeks may elapse before the ceremony can be carried out .

Notes No Art, &C.

NOTES NO ART , & c .

The Castellani Collection of Antiquities will not , after all find a resting-place in New York . The Museum Trustees cannot scrape together the requisite £ 30 , 000 , and the collection is now packed up to go to Paris , much to the disappointment of the New Yorkers , who had hoped at least to secure the pottery , which ,

in addition to the Cesnola purchases , would have laid the foundation of a very fine collection . MR . HOLMAN HUNT . —We are glad to announce that Mr . Holman Hunt is in a fair way of recovery from his late illness . He will return to England at Easter , and will bring with him an almost completed picture which will be the most important work he has yet produced . —Athcnaum . t

Art circles in America are so dissatisfied with the management of the National Academy of Design tha a number of painters have formed a counter association " The Society of American Artists , " and have held their first annual Exhibition in New York . The collection is said to be far better than that recently shown at the National Academy , and the influence of the Paris and Munich schools of painting is especially noticeable .

WAREHOUSEMEN AND CLERKS SCHOOLS . — The Princess Louise ( Marchioness of Lome ) has consented to preside in the course of the summer at the opening ceremony of the Leaf Memorial wings of the Warehousemen and Clerks' Schools . Chrysanthemums in Japan are trained into numerous quaint shapes like the old Eng'ish yew trees in

the forms of peacocks , & c . In Tokm there are gardens filled with life-sized figures maele entirely of the flowers and leaves , the faces being masks , and these chrysanthemum figutes accurately represent court ladies , warriors , children , and animals , one of the favourite characters being a young laely with a fox ' s tail peeping from her dress , and

a mask , which , by the touch of a string , turnsinto Reynard ' s head . Scenes from the late insurrection are also common , the rebels being completely composed of flowers , with the exception of their swords , shoes , and caps , while the cavalry are also represented . The Mikado ' s crest , by the way , is a chrysanthemum .

A RELIC OF THE TEMPLE . —Archaeologists have much deplored the disappearance of the venerable tree which for ages occupied a prominent place in the garden of the Middle Temple , and about which there are many interesting traditions ; among these is one that the tree was a favourite trystc of Henry V 11 I . and Anne Boleyn . We are informed that its timbers have been used in the

construction of a cabinet of antique pattern , which is a valuable addition to the art treasures in the corridor of the Middle Temple Hall . The old tree was removed at the time when the ground was cleared for the continuation of Plowdenbuildings , facing the Embankment , during the treasurership of the late Mr . George Loch , Q . C ., Attorney-General , of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales .

Ihe Polytechnical Society of Berlin in a recent sitting discussed at length a scheme for connecting the Prussian capital with the sea by means of a navigable canal provided with locks so as to enable vessels to ascend to the higher level . The scheme was pronounced feasible . Berlin is situated about ro 5 ft . above the level of the Baltic , anel the level of the Baltic and the German Ocean is about

equal . AFRICAN EXPLORATION . —Dr . Em in EfFendi , who in 1876 travelled with Gordon Pasha to the Somerset River , sends from Mruli to Dr . Petermann , a sketch dated November last , of his second journey from Magungo on the Albert Nyanza , across Kirota and Masindi to Mruli in August last , and from Mruli to Mpara-Njamoga , in the south of Masindi , and back to Mruli ( in September and

October ) . Sir Samuel Baker , it will be remembered , found Kaba Rega , the lord of Ungoro , utterly intractable , but Dr . Emin Effendi spent a month alone with him , showing the impossibility of anticipating the chances of such travels . In November Dr . Effendi was to go from Mruli to Uganda and Karague , and thence , accoiding to Gordon Pasha ' s desire , to reach , if possible , Lake Akanyaru , the Mfumbiri Mountains , and Ruanda . —Nature .

AN OYSTER BED . —In the year 1873 the J ersey States , with a view to encourage a revival of the oyster fishery , which at one time gave employment to a fleet of between 300 and 400 vessels , offered a reward of £ 30 to the discoverers of a new bank of oysti-rs in the neighbourhood of the island . The old " ¦ banks " had been assiduously worked and the young molluscs wire destroyed in vast

quantities . For the past few years only two or three boats have been able to find employment , and that not of the most profitable character , in searching round the island and off the coast of France for a supply for the island market . Recently the crews of the smacks Baron and Guide reported that they- had found off the south-west corner of the island a large bed of valuable oysters , samples of which they

brought for inspection . Since that time a sufficient opportunity has been afforded of testingthe value of the " find , " numerous boats having engaged in the fishery and reaped a rich reward . The price of oysters in the island has fallen 30 per cent , since the discovery , and the fortunate finders were on Wednesday the 20 th inst . awarded the sum of £$ 0 by the Stales Assembly . A LONG FAST . —The large female anaconda

( Enaectes murinus ) now in the Zoological Society ' s reptile house , purchased on the 13 th of Feburary , 1877 , has invariably declined the most tempting offers of food until Friday last , when she killed and swallowed a duck . It is impossible to say how long she may have been without food previous to her arrival at the Gardens . One thing is cer .. tain , however , that she could not have taken food while in the box in which she arrived from South America , as she was so closely packed as to be barely able to move .