A
CATALOGUE
OF
REMARKABLE BOOKS

“We have seen that the Therapeuts listened every Sabbath to discourses on the traditionary lore which was handed down in secret amongst themselves. Has this secret lore passed away from the earth? Scholars of the calibre of Reuchlin Joel and M. Franck, of the Institute of France, affirm that we have it still in the ‘Kabbalah.’ This word implies secret tradition. The legend runs that this secret wisdom was first taught by Jehovah to the seven angels that stand round his throne. It was then handed down orally through the seven earthly messengers (Adam, Moses, David, &c.). Finally, the Rabbi Simon Ben Jochai, in a cavern amid earth rocking and supernatural coruscations delivered it to the world in a “Book of Splendour,” the “Sohar.”—Arthur Lillie’s “Buddhism in Christendom” (1887).

Dr. Ginsburg speaks of the Kabbalah as:—“A system of religious philosophy, or, more properly, of theosophy, which has not only exercised for hundreds of years an extraordinary influence on the mental development of so shrewd a people as the Jews, but has captivated the minds of some of the greatest thinkers of Christendom in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, claims the greatest attention of both the philosopher and theologian. When it is added that among its captives were Raymond Lully, the celebrated scholastic metaphysician and chemist (died 1315); John Reuchlin, the renowned scholar and reviver of Oriental literature in Europe (born 1455, died 1522); John Picus de Mirandola, the famous philosopher and classical scholar (1463-1494); Cornelius Henry Agrippa, the distinguished philosopher, divine, and physician (1577-1644); as well as our own countrymen,[Page 4] Robert Fludd, the famous physician and philosopher (1574-1637), and Dr. Henry More (1614-1687); and that these men, after restlessly searching for a scientific system which should disclose to them ‘the deepest depths’ of the divine nature, and show them the real tie which binds all things together, found the cravings of their minds satisfied by this theosophy, the claims of the Kabbalah on the attention of students in literature and philosophy will readily be admitted. The claims of the Kabbalah, however, are not restricted to the literary man and the philosopher; the poet, too, will find in it ample materials for the exercise of his lofty genius.”

“Mr. Sinnett’s memoir is fluently written, and is free from unsympathetic scepticism. Theosophists will find both edification and interest in the book; and the general student of science will profit more or less by having his attention called to, &c....”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“Mr. Sinnett, however, offers on all the disputed points explanations which will be perfectly satisfactory to those who do not agree with the committee of the Psychical Society.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“For any credulous friend who revels in such stories I can recommend ‘Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky.’ I read every line of the book with much interest.”—Truth.

“His attempt seems to have taken a similar direction to that of George Boole in logic, with the difference that, whereas Boole’s expression of the Laws of Thought is algebraic, Betts expresses mind-growth geometrically; that is to say, his growth-formulæ are expressed in numerical series, of which each can be pictured to the eye in a corresponding curve. When the series are thus represented, they are found to resemble the forms of leaves and flowers.”—Extract from “Symbolic Methods of Study,” by Mary Boole.

The Pall Mall Gazette, in a characteristic article entitled, “Very Methodical Madness,” allows that “Like Rosicrucianism, esoteric Buddhism, and other forms of the mystically incomprehensible, it seems to exercise a magnetic influence upon many minds by no means as foolish as its original inventor’s.”

“This work is the result of more than twenty years’ application to the discovery of a method of representing human consciousness in its various stages of development by means of geometrical figures—it is, in fact, the application of mathematical symbology to metaphysics. This idea will be new to many of our readers; indeed, so far as we know, Mr. Betts is the only man who has tried to work out a coherent system of this kind, though his work unfortunately remains imperfect.”—Theosophist, June, 1887.

“A very curious book.”—Time.

“To the rapidly-extending catalogue of remarkable books published by Mr. George Redway, of London, an important addition has been made by the issue of a digest of the writings of Eliphas Levi. Many people, we dare say, will consider the volume to be ‘full of nonsense,’ but it is really a very curious and improving[Page 6] work, going over a vast space of ground, and presenting a great deal of matter that is worth thinking over. The author has earned a title to be heard. As a contribution to what is called ‘occult science,’ the present book will, of course, find a welcome from many readers, among those especially whose passion it is to grope for the unseen, and to these the varied contents will give delight. The matter contained in Mr. Waite’s volume is wonderfully varied, and much of it worth reading, even by those who do not believe in magic of any kind, black or white.”—Glasgow Herald.

“No determined student of Nature’s higher mysteries, setting out from the standpoint of modern European culture, can afford to remain ignorant of Eliphas Levi’s works. But to study them in the original is a wearisome task, if for no other reason, on account of their aggregate length. The present single volume is a digest of half a dozen books enumerated by the present author in a ‘biographical and critical essay’ with which he prefaces his undertaking. These are the Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, the Histoire de la Magie, the Clef des Grands Mystères, the Sorcier de Meudon, the Philosophie Occulte, and the Science des Esprits. To attack the whole series—which, indeed, it might be difficult to obtain now in a complete form—would be a bold undertaking, but Mr. Waite has endeavoured to give his readers the essence of the whole six books in a relatively compact compass.”—Light.

“Let no man think that such transcendental mysteries as the astrologer and the magician plunge into have disappeared from the face of the earth. Their votaries defy derision, they meet contempt with a calm consciousness of power, and a sublime sense of superiority; for in this generation the magicians have found a new prophet, a new hierophant—almost a new gospel.... Meanwhile, lest our readers should suppose that the modern students of the science of magic are not in deadly earnest, or that they are few in number or poor in substance, let them, with all due awe and thankfulness, buy this handsome volume, and as they open it let them cast a glance at the amazing list of works published and publishing by a single firm on the various branches of the occult sciences. Having done that, let them ask themselves whether some forms of faith—for we dare not drop a hint of disrespect—do not die hard.”—Athenæum, Aug. 6th, 1887.

Professor Drummond subordinates the Spiritual universe to the Material; the author of “Nature and Law” sustains a thesis diametrically opposed to this. His conclusion is “that there is more of heaven than of earth in all terrestrial things, more of spirit than of matter in what are termed material laws.”

“Theosophy has suddenly risen to importance.... The movement implied by the term Theosophy is one that cannot be adequately explained in a few words ... those interested in the movement, which is not to be confounded with spiritualism, will find means of gratifying their curiosity by procuring the back numbers of ‘The Theosophist’ and a very remarkable book called ‘Isis Unveiled,’ by Madame Blavatsky.”—Literary World.

“The merit of her book consists in the admirable clearness of her descriptions of faces. So vivid is the impression produced by them that she is able to dispense with illustrations, the reader using the faces of his acquaintances for that purpose. The classification, too, is good, although the astrological headings may be regarded by the profane as fanciful. Physiognomy may now be scientifically studied by means of composite photography.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“It possesses a certain literary interest, for Miss Baughan shows the connection between palmistry and the doctrines of the Kabbala.”—Graphic.

“Miss Rosa Baughan, for many years known as one of the most expert proficients in this branch of science, has as much claim to consideration as any writer on the subject.”—Sussex Daily News.

“People who wish to believe in palmistry, or the science of reading character from the marks of the hand,” says the Daily News, in an article devoted to the discussion of this topic, “will be interested in a handbook of the subject by Miss Baughan, published by Mr. Redway.”

“Mr. Serjeant deserves the thanks of all who are interested in astrology for rescuing this important work from oblivion.... The growing interest in mystical science will lead to a revival of astrological study, and advanced students will find this book an indispensable addition to their libraries. The book is well got up and printed.”—Theosophist.

“It is well for Dr. Anna Kingsford that she was not born into the sidereal world four hundred years ago. Had that been her sorry fate, she would assuredly have been burned at the stake for her preface to ‘Astrology Theologized.’ It is a very long preface—more than half the length of the treatise it introduces; it contains some of the finest flowers of Theosophical philosophy, and of course makes very short work of Christianity.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“Mrs. Kingsford, amid many things which we do not understand, and some few which we think we comprehend afar off, gives a more detailed analysis of ghosts than we remember to have met with in any of the ancient hermetic writers.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“The only pleasing features of the book are the reproductions of a number of beautiful symbolical figures with which it is illustrated. That on p. 28, representing Christ surrounded by an elliptical glory and carried up to heaven by angels, is taken from an illuminated manuscript of the fourteenth century in the Bibliothèque Royale; and the figure of the Virgin in an aureole, on p. 94, is from a tenth-century illuminated manuscript in the same library. Some of the figures here reproduced are among the finest things in Christian iconography.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“It will be a most interesting study for every occultist to compare the doctrines of the ancient Hermetic philosophy with the teaching of the Vedantic and Buddhist systems of religious thought. The famous books of Hermes seem to occupy, with reference to the Egyptian religion, the same position which the Upanishads occupy in Aryan religious literature.”—Theosophist, November, 1885.

“Paracelsus was a high priest among mystics and alchemists; he left behind him one hundred and six treatises upon medical and occult subjects, which are likely to be read by the curious as long as mysticism remains a necessary study for whoever would trace the developments of civilization.

“From some considerable acquaintance with the writings of Paracelsus, we can say that Dr. Hartmann has made his excerpts from them with a good deal of skill. Students, indeed, should be grateful for this book, despite its setting of Theosophical nonsense; since to read one of Bombast’s Latin or German treatises is a very stiff exercise indeed, unless you are well versed in his very recondite terminology.

“Dr. Hartmann has compiled a very full and accurate glossary of occult terms, which will be of great use to future readers of Paracelsus; and for so much he is to be thanked.

“Dr. Hartmann quotes some of his recipes for transmuting metals and producing the ‘electrum magicum.’ But Paracelsus is the most transcendental of European mystics, and it is not always easy to know when he is writing allegorically and when practically. Dr. Hartmann says he has tried these prescriptions and found them all right; but he warns the uninitiated against running the risk of blowing themselves up in the endeavour to follow the master’s instructions.

[Page 12]

“Paracelsus held firmly to the belief of some of the hermetic writers of the Middle Ages, that it is perfectly possible to create human beings by alchemical means; and he even gives directions (in his treatise ‘De Natura Rerum’) for the production of homunculi.

“On the whole, however, Dr. Hartmann has produced a very amusing book and a book which will have some permanent value to the student of the occult.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“An interesting addition to the fast-expanding literature of Theosophy.”—Literary World.

“All who are interested in Theosophy should read it.”—Glasgow Herald.

“Mr. Sinnett scores some points against his adversary, and his pamphlet is to be followed by some memoirs of Madame Blavatsky, which may contain further refutations. Madame Blavatsky herself appends to the pamphlet a brief and indignant denial of the grave charges which have been made against her.”—Graphic.

“This book, to which we can only allot an amount of space quite incommensurate with its intrinsic interest, is one that will appeal to the prepared student rather than to the general reader. To anyone who has previously made the acquaintance of such books as Mr. Sinnett’s ‘Occult World,’ and ‘Esoteric Buddhism,’ or has in other ways familiarized himself with the doctrines of the so-called Theosophical Society or Brotherhood, these lectures of Colonel Olcott’s will be rich in interest and suggestiveness. The American officer is a person of undoubted social position and unblemished personal reputation, and his main object is not to secure belief in the reality of any ‘phenomena,’ not to win a barren reputation for himself as a thaumaturgist or wonder-worker, but to win acceptance for one of the oldest philosophies of nature and human life—a philosophy to which of late years the thinkers of the West have been turning with noteworthy curiosity and interest. Of course, should the genuineness of the phenomena in question be satisfactorily established, there would undoubtedly be proof that the Eastern sages to whom Colonel Olcott bears witness do possess a knowledge of the laws of the physical universe far wider and more intimate than that which has been laboriously acquired by the inductive science of the West; but the theosophy expounded in this volume[Page 13] is at once a theology, a metaphysic, and a sociology, in which mere marvels, as such, occupy a quite subordinate and unimportant position. We cannot now discuss its claims, and we will not pronounce any opinion upon them; we will only say that Colonel Olcott’s volume deserves and will repay the study of all readers for whom the byways of speculation have an irresistible charm.”—Manchester Examiner.

“Mr. Sinnett’s previous works on ‘Esoteric Buddhism’ and ‘The Occult World’ in some way prepare the reader for the marvellous psychological phenomena with which the present volumes abound, and which cannot fail to have an irresistible charm for all those who love the byways of speculation.”—Literary World.

“There is, nevertheless, a weird attractiveness about ‘United’ which makes even the non-believer in theosophy loth to put down the book when once he has taken it up; while to the lovers of occult phenomena it will prove irresistibly fascinating.”—Literary World.

“Literary ability is evident throughout the book.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“It would be difficult to point to a more earnest writer than Mr. Sinnett, and all he says invariably carries force and weight.... The book has a power of its own which compels respect, and Mr. Sinnett is so much the same as he always is, so eager and sincere in expounding the mysteries in which he is a fervent believer, that one seems to be inspired with some of the curious fascination of his teaching.... In spite of all the improbable and weird fancies which have to be accepted by the student of the occult religion, it should always be borne in mind that its tenets are eminently elevating and beautiful; that it appeals to the best side of our nature.... But all is vague confusion to the uninitiated, and it has to be reluctantly admitted that if attracted one is sadly dazzled by the perusal of such a couple of volumes as ‘United.’ The purpose of ‘United’ is a good one; it is written with marked ability, and the story is pleasantly related in the happy vein of a characteristic author.”—Morning Advertiser, Dec. 31st, 1886.

“One of the best books of gossip we have met for some time.... It is literally crammed full from beginning to end of its 148 pages with well-selected anecdotes, poems, and excerpts from tobacco literature and history.”—Graphic.

“The smoker should be grateful to the compilers of this pretty little volume.... No smoker should be without it, and anti-tobacconists have only to turn over its leaves to be converted.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“Something to please smokers; and non-smokers may be interested in tracing the effect of tobacco—the fatal, fragrant herb—on our literature.”—Literary World.

“We have no hesitation in saying that he has produced the best book of moderate size yet published for the purpose of enabling an ordinary reader to thoroughly understand the origin and history of this ancient impost.... The author gives a great deal of interesting information concerning the planting and growth of Christianity in these islands, the origin of parishes, and the founding and endowment of parish churches.... Mr. Clarke declares himself in his book to be a member of the Church of England. He thus writes in no spirit of hostility to her. But he rightly uses very plain language in giving his opinion on the wilful distortion of facts by Church writers aiming to defend their Church.... No one who wishes thoroughly to understand the history of tithes should be without this book. It will well repay perusal as a book of ecclesiastical history apart from its special object.”—Literary World.

“The change of front which the defenders of the Church have been executing in the face of the enemy has exposed them to some awkward attacks, and Mr. Clarke has no doubt seized on a weak point in the line which seems to have been now adopted. Nor must we take leave of Mr. Clarke without praising his twelfth chapter, which contains an impartial and valuable array of facts and figures, which should be read by all who are interested in the solution of the tithe problem.”—Athenæum, July, 1887.

“Mr. Collette brings to his task both breadth and depth of knowledge, and a desire to be scrupulously free from prejudice. That he will please every reader is not to be expected, but it will be generally admitted that he has made every effort to arrive at and record the truth, nothing extenuating nor setting down aught in malice.”—Globe, Aug. 19th.

Vanity Fair says:—“Mr. Paterson writes charmingly of a charming subject. He is a cultured and an athletic man, and tells of the climbs he has done in nervous, descriptive English. He confesses to some partiality for getting along alone, but he is evidently not a churl, and he opens the store of his experiences under the snow-line in Wales, Cumberland, Scotland, and Norway with a skill which will make his wanderings acceptable to a much larger number of people than can ever climb mountains themselves.”

“The essays are very readable and convey much instruction on elementary topics of therapeutics in a pleasant and agreeable form. A reader may learn from them how to cure a cold or manage a baby, both difficult things to do; and will find much to help him in the treatment of such accidents and ailments as are usually considered too slight to warrant a resort to professional assistance.”—Scotsman.

“It is not merely a doctor’s book for family use, as the writer endeavours to explain the physiological principles upon which medical treatment rests, although he gives practical applications in the way of directions and prescriptions.”—Glasgow Herald, Aug. 19th.

“The spiritual history of Jasper Cartwright, which Mr. Waite has narrated in his dramatic poem, ‘A Soul’s Comedy,’ is as complex as any student of humanity could desire.... The story, as such, is not without interest, though some of the interest is disagreeable.... Yet Mr. Waite often writes very forcibly; his imagery is good; and there is plenty of idealism in his pages.”—Scotsman.

“Mrs. Greville-Nugent has succeeded very fairly well with her villanelles and rondeaux, her triolets and sestines, her ballades and chants royal.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“Where she shows herself at her best is in the French forms of verse, which exactly suit her talent.”—Times.

“With the general spirit and drift of Dr. Frederick George Lee’s vigorous pamphlet we entirely and heartily concur. On certain points of detail we may venture to differ from the author. Not all representations of the nude are of necessity immodest: witness, for example, the works of such an artist as Mr. G. F. Watts. Conversely, there are scores of pictures (chiefly French) which, though they do not come under the category of which we speak, are nevertheless flagrantly immodest. We deem it unnecessary to discuss the matter further, especially as we have already and more than once expressed a very definite opinion upon it—in substantial agreement with Dr. Lee—in the articles devoted to Art criticism. To that opinion we intend to adhere, though in doing so we may stand alone in the public press. As to Dr. Lee’s protest, it is, in our opinion, both timely and serviceable.”—John Bull.

“The author of ‘Less than Kin’ has produced in ‘The Curate’s Wife’ a story as powerful and full of genuine human interest as has appeared for some long time past. This tale of ‘country life’ is realistic in the best sense of the word. Faithful as a photograph in all its minor details, it shows clear insight into the character of both the sexes, and under very varied conditions. The gradual transformation of the heroine from a young girl, full of high purposes and enthusiasm, into the hopeless drudge who in despair lays herself down to die, is painted with an almost Zola-like fidelity. Her tyrant, the popular curate, is also a powerful sketch. It is difficult not to think that an expiation worked out in the scene of his misdeeds, with people who pity while they blame him, is insufficient punishment for so contemptible a cur. It would have been, doubtless, more satisfactory had Meta conquered in the unequal contest between her well-meaning inexperience and her husband’s brutal self-love, but in real life the chances would be against her, and this clever novel is, above all, an exact picture of certain phases of human nature as it is, and in this lies its chief merit.”—Morning Post.

“There is in the book a high and pure moral and a distinct conception of character.... The dramatis personæ ... are in reality strongly individual, and surprise one with their inconsistencies just as real human beings do.... There is something powerful in the way in which the reader is made to feel both the reality and the untrustworthiness of his (the hero’s) religious fervour, and the character of the atheist, Graham, is not less strongly and definitely conceived.... It is a work that shows imagination and moral insight, and we shall look with much anticipation for another from the same hand.”—Contemporary Review.

“This is a collection of short pieces, most of which can fairly be considered poetry—no slight merit, as verses run just now. Some of the pieces are singularly pathetic and mournful; others, though in serious guise, are permeated by quaint humour; and all of them are of considerable merit. From the variety and excellence of the contents of this bundle of poetical effusions, it is likely to attract a great number of readers, and many passages in it are particularly suitable for recitation.”—Army and Navy Gazette, Aug. 14, 1886.

“But ‘Low Down,’ as it is called, has the distinction of being multi-coloured, each sheet of eight pages consisting of paper of a special hue. To turn over the leaves is, in fact, to enjoy a sort of kaleidoscopic effect, a glimpse of a literary rainbow. Moreover, to complete the peculiarity of the thing, the various poems are printed, apparently at haphazard, in large or small type, as the case may be. There are those, perhaps, who would take such jokes too seriously, and bring them solemnly to the bar of taste, there to be as solemnly condemned. But that is scarcely the right spirit in which to regard them. There is room in life for the quaint and curious as well as for the neat and elegant.”—Globe.

“The account of the various families is most amusing. Soon after Fifine’s arrival her husband reappears, and begins to persecute her; but she is saved by a clever stratagem of the Professor’s, one that we do not remember having previously come across in a novel. It would not be fair to spoil the interest of this story by[Page 20] even hinting how Fifine is relieved from her husband, and how all ends happily. If the author will only change his style and be content to use plain language, he bids fair to be successful in writing novels.”—Saturday Review.

“Exhibiting genuine ability.”—Scotsman.

“Readers will be glad that the morally unpleasant portions of the book are briefly narrated.”—Scotsman.

“This witty, sarcastic, and drastic brochure is just what might have been expected from a brave, and of late persecuted, soldier. It is feigned to be published in 1907; its origin is due to recent contributions in the ‘St. James’s Gazette,’ and it is dedicated to the Auxiliary Naval and Military Forces of the British Empire.... The incident related by Colonel Hope is not without its lessons, and, though at times bordering on the region of improbability, is very well worth reading.”—Western Daily Mercury.

“The selections have been made with judgment and taste.”—Glasgow Herald.

“The book is on the whole one of the best of its kind ever published.”—Glasgow Herald.

“Its illustrations are really exquisite.”—Glasgow Herald.

“The editor has made the selection with praiseworthy judgment.”—Morning Post.

“The value of the work is enhanced by a new poem from the pen of Mr. Algernon Charles Swinburne which displays deep and heroic feeling.”—Morning Post.

“Twelve really exquisite and delicately executed etchings of sea and river side accompany and complete this beautiful volume.”—Morning Post.

“A special anthology delightful in itself and possessing the added graces of elegant printing and dainty illustrations.”—Scotsman.

“An attractive volume.... Mr. Swinburne’s very spirited and patriotic lay appropriately heads the collection, while in addition to this new poem the editor has included some judicious selections from the poet’s works.”—Saturday Review.

“Mrs. Davenport Adams has evidently expended a prodigious amount of labour in making the collection comparatively exhaustive.”—Literary World.

“The volume is got up in the handsomest style, and includes a dozen etchings of sea and river scenes, some of which are exquisite.”—Literary World.

“This tragedy is the work of a poet and not of a playwright. Many of the scenes abound in vigour and tragic intensity. If the structure of the drama challenges comparison with the masterpieces of the Elizabethan stage, it is at least not unworthy of the models which have inspired it.”—Times.

“Some write well, but he writes Weller.”—Epigram on Dickens.

“Some of the best sayings of the immortal Sam and his sportive parent are collected here. The book may be taken up for a few minutes with the certainty of affording amusement, and it can be carried away in the pocket.”—Literary World.

“It was a very good idea ... the extracts are very humorous ... here nothing is missed.”—Glasgow Herald.

“Mr. Nesfield’s name as an author is established on such a pleasantly sound foundation that it is a recognized fact that, in taking up a book written by him, the reader is in for a delightful half-hour, during which his risible and humorous faculties will be pleasantly stimulated. The history of young Archibald Highton Tregauntly, whose fortunes we follow from the cradle to when experience is just beginning to teach him a few wholesome lessons, is as smart and brisk as it is possible to be.”—Whitehall Review.

“It will be matter for regret if the brisk and lively style of Mr. Nesfield, who at times reminds us of Lever, should blind people to the downright wickedness of such a perverted career as is here described.”—Daily Chronicle.

“Even M. Zola and Mr. George Moore would find it hard to beat Mr. Adams’s description of Rosy’s death. The grimly minute narrative of Leicester’s schoolboy troubles, and of his attempt to get a living when he is discarded by his guardian, is, too, of such a character as to make one regret that Mr. Adams had not put to better use his undoubted, though undisciplined powers.”—Academy.

“There is unquestionable power in ‘Leicester.’”—Athenæum.

“This remarkable poet affords nearly the most striking instance of neglected genius in our modern school of poetry. His poems are full of vivid disorderly power.”—Dante G. Rossetti.

“It forms an interesting chronological record of the great frosts and frost fairs that have taken place in Great Britain from the year A.D. 134 to Christmas, 1886-7, and contains some curious and out-of-the-way information on past customs.... There are some quaint illustrations representing the old fairs; and also a good index.”—Hull Portfolio.

“Before going to help to govern them, Mr. Scott has once more written on the Burmese.... Mr. Scott claims to have covered the whole ground, to show Burma as it was, is, and will be; and as there is nobody competent to criticise him except[Page 24] himself, we shall not presume to say how far he has succeeded. What, however, may be asserted with absolute confidence is, that he has written a bright, readable, and useful book.”—Saturday Review, March 27.

“Very lively and readable.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“The author knows what he writes about.”—St. Stephen’s Review.

“There is a good deal of curious reading in the book.”—Literary World.

“The book is amusing and instructing, and Mr. George Redway, the publisher, will have done the public and himself a service.”—Court Journal.

“The print is clear, and the binding in excellent taste.”—Bookseller.

“Evidently full of genuine information.”—Society.

“A handy guide to Burma, as readable as it is accurate.”—Globe.

“Mr. Scott should have called this volume ‘A Book for Members of Parliament.’”—London and China Telegraph.

“The sketch of Burmese cosmogony and mythology is very interesting.”—Nature.

“A competent historian. He sketches Burma and the Burmans with minute fidelity.”—Daily Chronicle.

“Probably no Englishman knows Burma better than Mr. J. G. Scott.”—Contemporary Review.

“An excellent description both of land and people.”—Contemporary Review.

“Most interesting.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“Shway Yoe is a graphic writer ... no one can supply this information better than Mr. Scott.”—Asiatic Quarterly Review.

“There are gleams of nature, of wit, of observation, and even of verse, in ‘The Love Affair.’ The style is free from mere verbiage and line padding; and it changes with freedom from the old and stately to the modern and familiar.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“There is a sort of bizarre attraction in this fantastic little book, with its weird, unhealthy imaginations.”—Whitehall Review.

“Imagination or some other faculty plays marvellous freaks in this little book.”—Lloyd’s Weekly.

“A weird little book.... The author seems to have been delighted with his dreams, and ... carefully explains how hachish may be made from the resin or the common hemp plant.”—Daily Chronicle.

“To be added to the literature of what is, after all, a very undesirable subject. Weak minds may generate a morbid curiosity if stimulated in this direction.”—Bradford Observer.

“The stories told by our author have a decidedly Oriental flavour, and we would not be surprised if some foolish individuals did endeavour to procure some of the drug, with a view to experience the sensation described by the writer of this clever brochure.”—Edinburgh Courant.

“A very clever and amusing parody of the metaphysical treatises once in fashion. Every smoker will be pleased with this volume.”—Notes and Queries.

“We have here a most excellent piece of fooling, evidently from a University pen.... Contains some very clever burlesques of classical modes of writing, and a delicious parody of scholastic logic.”—Literary World.

“A delightful mock essay on the exoteric philosophy of the pipe and the pipe bowl ... reminding one alternately of ‘Melancholy’ Burton and Herr Teufelsdröch, and implying vast reading and out-of-the-way culture on the part of the author.”—Bookseller.

“Mr. Swinburne’s new patriotic song, ‘A Word for the Navy,’ is as fiery in its denunciation of those he believes to be antagonistic to the welfare of the country as was his lyric with which he startled the readers of the Times one morning.”—Athenæum.

“This is an interesting monograph on Poe’s famous poem. First comes the poet’s own account of the genesis of the poem, with a criticism, in which Mr. Ingram declines, very properly, we think, to accept the history as entirely genuine. Much curious information is collected in this essay. Then follows the poem itself, with the various readings, and then its after-history; and after these ‘Isadore,’ by Albert Pike, a composition which undoubtedly suggested the idea of ‘The Raven’ to its author. Several translations are given, two in French, one in prose, the other in rhymed verse; besides extracts from others, two in German and one in Latin. But perhaps the most interesting chapter in the book is that on the ‘Fabrications.’”—Spectator.

“There is no more reliable authority on the subject of Edgar Allan Poe than Mr. John H. Ingram.... The volume is well printed and tastefully bound in spotless vellum, and will prove to be a work of the greatest interest to all students of English and American literature.”—Publisher’s Circular.

“This book is honestly what it pretends to be, and nothing more. It is a comprehensive catalogue of all the writings of Mr. Charles Dickens, and of a good quantity of books written about him. It also contains copious extracts from reviews of his works and from sermons on his character. The criticisms are so various, and some of them are so much at variance with others, that the reader of them can complain of nothing less than a lack of material on which to form his judgment, if he has not formed it already, on the claim of Mr. Dickens to occupy a front place in the rank of English classics. Assertions, if not arguments, are multiplied on either side.”—Saturday Review.

“Mr. Fred. G. Kitton ... has done his work with remarkable thoroughness, and consequently with real success. It is a subject on which I may fairly claim to speak, and I may say that all I know, and a great deal I did not know, about Dickens is to be found in Mr. Kitton’s work.”—“Atlas,” in the World.

“Thackeray’s essay ‘On the Genius of George Cruikshank,’ reprinted from the Westminster Review, is a piece of work well calculated to drive a critic of these days to despair. How inimitable is its touch! At once familiar and elegant, serious and humorous, enthusiastically appreciative, and yet just and clear-sighted; but, above all, what the French call personnel. It is not the impersonnel reviewer who is going through his paces ... it is Thackeray talking to us as few can talk—talking with apparent carelessness, even ramblingly, but never losing the thread of his discourse or saying a word too much, nor ever missing a point which may help to elucidate his subject or enhance the charm of his essay.... Mr. W. E. Church’s prefatory note on ‘Thackeray as an Art Critic’ is interesting and carefully compiled.”—Westminster Review.

“As the original copy of the Westminster is now excessively rare, this re-issue will, no doubt, be welcomed by collectors.”—Birmingham Daily Mail.

“The new portrait of Cruikshank by F. W. Pailthorpe is a clear, firm etching.”—The Artist.

“... A guide to those who are great admirers of Thackeray, and are collecting first editions of his works. The dainty little volume, bound in parchment and printed on hand-made paper, is very concise and convenient in form; on each page is an exact copy of the title-page of the work mentioned thereon, a collation of pages and illustrations, useful hints on the differences in editions, with other matters indispensable to collectors.... Altogether it represents a large amount of labour and experience.”—Spectator.

“... Mr. Johnson has evidently done his work with so much loving care that we feel entire confidence in his statements. The prices that he has affixed in every case form a valuable feature of the volume, which has been produced in a manner worthy of its subject-matter.”—Academy.

“The list of works which Mr. Johnson supplies is likely to be of high interest to Thackeray collectors. His preliminary remarks go beyond this not very narrow circle, and have a value for all collectors of modern works.”—Notes and Queries.

“... It is choicely printed at the Chiswick Press; and the author, Mr. Charles Plumptre Johnson, treats the subject with evident knowledge and enthusiasm.... It is not a Thackeray Bibliography, but a careful and minute description of the first issues, with full collations and statement of the probable cost.... Mr. Johnson addresses collectors, but is in addition a sincere admirer of the greatest satirist of the century.”—Book Lore.

“Enthusiastic admirers of Dickens are greatly beholden to Mr. C. P. Johnson for his useful and interesting ‘Hints to Collectors of Original Editions of the Works of Charles Dickens’ (Redway). The book is a companion to the similar guide to collectors of Thackeray’s first editions, is compiled with the like care, and produced with the like finish and taste.”—Saturday Review.

“This is a sister volume to the ‘Hints to Collectors of First Editions of Thackeray,’ which we noticed a month or two ago. The works of Dickens, with a few notable ‘Dickensiana,’ make up fifty-eight numbers, ... and Mr. Johnson has further augmented the present volume with a list of thirty-six plays founded on Dickens’s works, and another list of twenty-three published portraits of Dickens. As we are unable to detect any slips in his work, we must content ourselves with thanking him for the correctness of his annotations. It is unnecessary to repeat our praise of the elegant format of these books.”—Academy.

“In the absence of a fuller biography we cordially welcome Mr. Kitton’s interesting little sketch.”—Notes and Queries.

“The multitudinous admirers of the famous artist will find this touching monograph well worth careful reading and preservation.”—Daily Chronicle.

“The very model of what such a memoir should be.”—Graphic.

The Athenæum says:—“Admirers of Thackeray may be grateful for a reprint of ‘Sultan Stork.’”

“The remains of Thackeray are now in the hands of the resurrectionists. Writers in the Athenæum have been gloating over them, and Mr. George Redway, a London publisher of peculiar and quaint literature, has issued a handsome volume of Thackerayan fragments.”—Glasgow Herald.

“Thackeray collectors, however, have only to be told that none of the pieces now printed appear in the two volumes recently issued by Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co., in order to make them desire their possession. They will also welcome the revision of the Bibliography, since it now presents a complete list, arranged in chronological order, of Thackeray’s published writings in prose and verse, and also of his sketches and drawings.”—Daily Chronicle.

“‘Sultan Stork’ ... which purports to be told by Scheherazade on the thousand and second of the ‘Arabian Nights,’ is undoubtedly the work of Mr. Thackeray, and is quite pretty and funny enough to have found a place in his collected miscellanies. ‘Dickens in France’ is as good in its way as Mr. Thackeray’s analysis of Alexander Dumas’ ‘Kean’ in the ‘Paris Sketch-Book.’... There are other slight sketches in this volume which are evidently by Mr. Thackeray, and several of his obiter dicta in them are worth preserving.... We do not assume to fix Mr. Thackeray’s rank or to appraise his merits as an art critic. We only know that, in our opinion, few of his minor writings are so pleasant to read as his shrewd and genial comments on modern painters and paintings.”—Saturday Review.

“This very remarkable book, ‘Sithron,’ ... is a bold, pungent, audacious satire upon the ancient religious belief of the Jews.... No one can read the book without homage to the force, the tenderness, and the never-failing skill of its writer.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“A pleasant volume on a pleasant topic.... The Countess, with her sincere enthusiasm for what is simple, passionate, and sensuous in folk-song, and with her lucid and unaffected style, well understands the mode in which the educated collector should approach the shy singers or story-tellers of Europe.... Her introduction is perhaps, to the scientific student of popular culture, the best part of her book.... Next to her introduction, perhaps her article on ‘Death in Folk-Poetry’ is the most serviceable essay in the volume.... ‘Folk Lullabies’ is[Page 32] perhaps the most pleasant of the remaining essays in the admirable volume, a volume remarkable for knowledge, sympathy, and good taste.”—Extracts from a page notice in the Saturday Review, April 24, 1886.

“This is a very delightful book, full of information and thoughtful suggestions. It deals principally with the Folk-songs of Southern peoples, Venetian, Sicilian, Armenian, Provence, and Greek Songs of Calabria, but there are several essays devoted to the general characteristics of Folk-Poetry, such as the influence of Nature, the Inspiration of Death, the idea of Fate, the numerous songs connected with the rites of May, Folk-Lullabies, and Folk-Dirges. There is also an interesting essay on what is called the White Paternoster, and Children’s Rhyming Prayers. This is one of the most valuable, and certainly one of the most interesting, books which have been written on a subject which has of late years been exciting an ever-increasing attention, and which involves many important problems connected with the early history of the human race.”—Standard.

“‘Folk-Songs,’ traditional popular ballads, are as tempting to me as King Charles’s head to Mr. Dick. But interesting as the topic of the origin and diffusion and literary merit of these poems may be—poems much the same in all European countries—they are rather caviare to the general. The Countess Martinengo-Cesaresco is, or should be, a well-known authority among special students of this branch of literature, to whom I heartily commend her ‘Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs.’ The Countess is, perhaps, most familiar with Southern volksleider, as of Greece, Italy, and Sicily. Her book is a treasure-house of Folk-lore of various kinds, and the matter is handled with much poetic appreciation and a good deal of learning.”—Daily News.

“A kind of popular introduction to the study of Folk-lore.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“The interest of this compilation is naturally not to be compared to that aroused by the ever-fresh ‘Thousand and One Nights;’ but it has had high reputation among particular admirers, and the gentleman to whom we are indebted for this English version—apparently the most complete in any language of Western Europe—merits the thanks of the reading public for the work performed.”—Athenæum.

“A delightful addition to the wealth of Oriental stories available to English readers is ‘The History of the Forty Vezirs’ (Redway), done into English by Mr. E. J. W. Gibb, from the Turkish of Sheykh-Zāda. The collection comprises 112 stories. To the forty told by the Lady and those of the forty Vezirs, Mr. Gibb has added four from Belletête, twenty from a MS. in the India Office, six from Dr. Behrnauer’s translation, and two from a MS. recently purchased by Mr. Quaritch. The results of collation are admirably summarized in a comparative table that analyzes the contents of the various texts. In the preface Mr. Gibb deals with the bibliography of the French and German versions, and indicates some of the more[Page 33] interesting parallels suggested by those old stories in the ‘Gesta Romanorum,’ the ‘Decameron,’ the ‘Thousand and One Nights,’ the ‘Mabinogion,’ and other treasures of old-world fable. In short, Mr. Gibb has considerately done everything to help the reader to an intelligent appreciation of this charming book.”—Saturday Review.

“In my opinion the version is definite and final. The style is light and pleasant, with the absolutely necessary flavour of quaintness; and the notes, though short and few, are sufficient and satisfactory. Mr. Gibb does not write only ad clerum; and thus he has been obliged to ‘leave in the obscurity of an Eastern language’ three whole tales (pp. 353, 366, and 399), No. 2 being exceedingly witty and fescennine. He has the good sense, when he supplants a broad joke by a banal English phrase, to subjoin in a note the original Turkish (pp. 109, 140, 199, 215, and 382). Yet some of the novelle are highly spiced enough: see the amorous princess in the Eleventh Wazir’s story (pp. 381-3); and the truly Turkish and unspeakable version of modest Æsop’s ‘Countryman and his Son.’ Of the less Milesian I would especially commend the story of the Venus-star and the magical angels, Harut and Marut (p. 167); the explanation of the proverb, ‘Take counsel of the cap that is on thy head’ (p. 362), and the Thirty-seventh Wazir’s tale, showing why ‘men have beaten their wives since the days of Saint Adam’ (p. 349).”—Sir Richard F. Burton, in the Academy.

“An admirable study of a primitive belief and custom. One of the utmost importance in considering the growth of civilization.”

“A profound interest will be aroused by the keenness and clearness of vision, no less than by the wealth of learning, by means of which he follows a line of research, tracing through this one rite the cannibalism of savages to a religious impulse not essentially different in its symbolical aspect from one of the most vital principles of Christianity. In the details of the work will be found much to attract the attention of the curious. Its fundamental and essential value, however, is for the student of religions; and all such will be grateful to Dr. Trumbull for this solid, instructive, and enlightening work.”—Scotsman.

“This work is a multum in parvo of the growth and spread of Phallicism, as we commonly call the worship of nature or fertilizing powers. I felt, when solicited to enlarge and illustrate it on the sudden death of the lamented author, that it would be desecration to touch so complete a compendium by one of the most competent and soundest thinkers who have written on this world-wide faith. None knew better or saw more clearly than Mr. Westropp that in this oldest symbolism and worship lay the foundations of all the goodly systems we call Religions.”—J. G. R. Forlong.

“A well-selected repertory of facts illustrating this subject, which should be read by all who are interested in the study of the growth of religions.”—Westminster Review.

“When Dr. Döllinger wrote to the effect that ‘the subject of Pope Joan has not yet lost interest,’ he said no more than the truth. The probability is that the topic will always have its attractions for the lovers of the curiosities of history. Mr. Baring-Gould has declared that ‘the whole story of Pope Joan is fabulous, and rests on not a single historical foundation;’ but others are not so firmly convinced in the matter, and at all times there are those who are anxious to investigate singular traditions.... Rhoïdis discusses the topic with much learning and ingenuity, and Mr. Collette’s introduction is full of information.”—Globe.

“It is interesting enough, and is accompanied by curious illustrations.”—Notes and Queries.

“This book is written ad clerum, and appeals to the scholar only, and not to the multitude. It is a masterly and exhaustive account of that worship of the creative powers of nature which, under various names, has prevailed among all the nations of antiquity and of mediæval times, alike in Egypt and India, in Italy and Gaul, among the Israelites of old, and among the primitive inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland ... a most valuable auxiliary to all who care to pursue such a subject of inquiry, a subject for which Mr. Jennings is the better fitted on account of his long and intimate acquaintance with the Rosicrucians, their tenets, and their practices.”—Antiquarian Magazine and Bibliographer.

“Unpleasant as this subject is, we are quite prepared to agree that in its scientific aspect, as a form of human worship, it has considerable importance.... Mr. Jennings deals almost entirely with the subjective part of his inquiry, and he has evidently made a considerable amount of research into the literature of early religions.... He has produced something which is, at all events, worth the attention of the student of comparative psychology.”—Antiquary.

“This book ... is profoundly learned, and gives evidence on each page of deep thought, intense powers of research, clear and unmistakable reasoning, and thorough mastership of the subject. The appendix also contains much very curious matter which will interest those who desire to study the subject under all its different aspects and bearings.”—Reliquary.

“It forms a useful and entertaining guide to a beginner in historical researches.”—Notes and Queries.

“The author has laid it before the public in a most inviting, intelligent, and intelligible form, and offers every incentive to the study in every department, including Ancient Records, Manorial Court-Rolls, Heraldry, Painted Glass, Mural Paintings, Pottery, Church Bells, Numismatics, Folk-Lore, &c., to each of which the attention of the student is directed. The pamphlet is printed on a beautiful modern antique paper, appropriate to the subject of the work.”—Brighton Examiner.

“Mr. Batty, who is one of those folks Mr. Dobson styles ‘gleaners after time,’ has clearly and concisely summed up, in the space of a few pages, all the various objects which may legitimately be considered to come within the scope of antiquarian study.”—Academy.