AndrEe Hope

After blowing another hurricane all night there is this morning a decided improvement in the weather. The wind has gone down nearly as suddenly as it rose, though the sea is still running very high.

Some of the old wooden houses towards the outskirts of the town, where they were more exposed to the violence of the storm, have suffered considerable damage, and two have literally been blown down. Happily, the inhabitants were able to escape in time, and no lives have been lost.

As I was anxious to make some sketches before being prevented by our own departure, or by some of the prettiest houses tumbling into ruins, we went early on shore on a drawing expedition; but amongst so many picturesque spots, it was quite an embarras de richesses to know where to begin. At last I set to work upon a narrow street with dark-brown houses, whose overhanging eaves almost touched their opposite neighbours.

How I longed to have the skill of a really good artist, especially to draw one low projecting window which the leafy branches of a vine had formed into a little arch. A stray sunbeam was gleaming brightly on two fair young faces as they peeped shyly at the strangers through the framework of the tender green leaves. It was difficult to decide which shone brightest in the dark street, the bright eyes or the bright sunshine.

With this charming exception the place had seemed deserted when the sketch began, but after a few strokes had been made sundry little groups appeared at the doors, and emboldened by our pretending to take no notice, they gradually approached. Some of the older women ventured at last to look over my shoulder to see what I was about, and, when house after house appeared on the paper, their delight could no longer be controlled, and they eagerly called the owners to see the wonderful production.

Having accomplished the houses as well as I could, I wanted some figures to complete the little picture, and tried to sketch in as rapidly as possible a group of pretty girls who stood near. But this was going too far, and was too great a tax on their courage. They fled instantly; for so great is their dread of the evil eye that they, no doubt, felt persuaded that, were they to allow their likeness to be taken by a stranger, it would entail certain misery upon them. In southern countries one must carefully avoid noticing young people too much, and must especially beware of praising little children. A mother would think it most cruel kindness, as it would be directly casting the jettatura upon her child.

In many parts of Calabria (the stronghold of this superstition) it does not do for a friend, if a foreigner, to say a word even in favour of that generally-praised member of the family, the baby. Like the women of a Turkish harem, the children of a Christian household are too sacred to be mentioned.

Although they ran away, I was glad to find my Sinope friends were not irrevocably offended, for they turned up again when I began the next sketch. They gathered close round, evidently much interested in me and my doings, but though there was so much interest, there was not the least rudeness. It is to be feared that a strange artist, in a foreign costume, would not meet with such good-natured forbearance in an English village.

I was examined critically, however, and I could understand enough of what they were saying to know they were remarking upon my nose, eyes, mouth, hair, dress, &c. They were evidently much puzzled as to the use of the little hood belonging to my cloak, lifting it up, and making numerous interrogative signs; at last they arrived, I am certain, at the conclusion that it served to carry bread or babies in.

When the drawing was finished, a nice, fresh-looking old woman, a greater person probably than all the rest, as she wore some very large coins round her neck, came out of the crowd, seized my hand, kissed it several times, and then, tucking it tightly under her arm and pointing to the public baths close by, tried to pull me towards them. Whether she wished me to sketch them, or whether, in the excess of her good-will, she wished to present me to the rest of “the world of Sinope” (for in these parts the bath is the women’s club, where they meet to drink coffee and sherbet, and talk over each other’s affairs), must for ever remain a mystery, for though we both talked, we neither understood. She bowed persuasively, I bowed negatively, and clung tightly to my companion, for I was really afraid, from the excess of kind friendship, of being carried off against my will. At length, finding I was not to be moved either morally or physically, she again repeatedly kissed my hand, and with many smiles and friendly looks we parted.

We then strolled on as far as the Turkish burial-ground, enjoying the bright sunshine and the fresh air, for though so rough and stormy at sea, on shore it was very pleasant. Beyond the cemetery is an open common that extends to the edge of the cliffs that line the bay opposite to that where the yacht is lying.

Out at sea everything looked wild and desolate. Great leaden-coloured waves were beating in angry foam against the rocks; not a sail was to be seen; a few gulls were slowly flapping across the dreary waste of water, their hoarse cries sounding as if they too were uttering harsh warnings of coming disasters and death. But what a curious contrast as we turned from so eerie a scene and looked towards the town! On this side the sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing in the bushes close by, whilst several groups of Turkish women, seated under the cypress trees near the cemetery, made the scene gay with their many-coloured ferighies.

Turning inland, the day was so warm that we were glad to sit down on an old wall under the shade of a leafy fig-tree, though, when facing the sea, the keen, sharp wind had made us draw our cloaks closely round us. Such is essentially the climate of Sinope, summer and winter at the same time. No wonder, therefore, that the scourge of the place is consumption. The consul tells us that spring and autumn are nearly nominal seasons. The hot days of summer send the snow away, and when they again begin to decline rain and winter come together. The sun rules the temperature completely; when he shines the days are hot, even in mid-winter, and again in summer, should he withdraw his rays, and leave the sky gloomy and cloud-covered, there is a sudden chill in the air that is far more injurious to health than the actual cold of winter.

It was not until the 2nd of October that the weather cleared sufficiently to enable us to leave Sinope. Then, however, all promised well for a prosperous voyage. With a clear, blue sky, calm sea, and a fairly favourable breeze we set sail for the Bosphorus. For twenty-four hours the yacht dashed gaily along; and we were all merry with the anticipation of being speedily with our friends at Therapia, when a sudden change came over the sunny prospect. A little cloud, no bigger than a man’s hand, was seen to windward. Though the sky was still blue, the sea calm, and the sun shining brightly, the glass went down with alarming rapidity. Suddenly the wind began to moan with a wild melancholy wail, a great darkness rapidly spread over sea and sky, except along the horizon; there a pallid streak of light showed where the storm was stalking on, lashing the sea into a perfect whirl of foam as it tore its way over the water. On came the squall with wondrous quickness. There was nothing to be done but to make the best of our way back to Sinope Bay, as it was evident that ugly weather was again threatening.

In less than an hour from the time when the little cloud had been first perceived the yacht was running before a heavy sea with scarcely a bit of canvas on her, but before night we rounded the promontory off Sinope, and were at once in smooth water.

Instead of returning, however, to our old anchorage, we put in to Ghirgeh, a little town on the other side of the bay, where, it was said, excellent shooting and good provisions were to be had. Unluckily, landing is a work of difficulty should there be any sea, or even swell, for there is a reef of rocks close to the shore that can only be crossed in tolerably smooth water.

The storm was not of long duration, though it was fierce while it lasted. It raged all night with much violence, but the following morning all things again looked propitious.

The breeze, though it blew rather fresh, was fair for the Bosphorus; we were getting impatient at so much delay. We might have remained days at Ghirgeh without being able to land, for with the wind from this quarter the surf beat heavily on the reef, and the boat that had been sent on shore in search of provisions had returned half full of water, with the men drenched to the skin.

Game and meat were also found to be “myths,” and as the people on shore declared the gale was now well over, once again we set sail for Constantinople.

---

“Those who go down to the sea in ships, these men see the works of The Lord, and His wonders in the great deep.”

We thank Him who stills the raging sea, that in His mercy He has guarded us through so fearful a tempest.

We had left Ghirgeh on Tuesday. Late on Wednesday afternoon once more the warning glass fell rapidly, and the breeze that had been fresh and steady suddenly dropped. Towards evening we were almost becalmed, little puffs of hot air only occasionally fanning us as the yacht rose slowly on the heaving sea. But about one o’clock that night, the gale came upon us with all its force, preceded by an icy wind that seemed to freeze the ropes into bits of iron.

No sooner was the roar of the mighty tempest heard across the waters than the sea, lashed into madness by the tremendous force of the wind, turned into a seething cauldron. In an instant the great waves rose up foaming, and tossed and dashed against the poor little vessel as if resolved on its destruction. As the storm raged across her the dear Claymore heeled over, and quivered as if she had received a blow, but righting herself immediately, she gallantly faced her foe and prepared for another shock. Speedily it came—and again another, and another. More and more furious became the wind, and though the foresail had been reefed, and we had only the storm-jib, it was necessary to furl them both and take in the jib-boom; but in vain the men pulled and strained, the ropes were frozen. Servants, cooks, every man on board was summoned, Mr. Harvey, Captain Martini, and Charlie cheering on the men, as they too sprang forward to the ropes; but crash after crash came the great waves, as they raged against the yacht with a fury that it seemed almost impossible anything of wood and iron could long withstand.

At length Charlie and another man, with their knives between their teeth, crawled on to the bowsprit, though every plunge buried them deep in the waves, and succeeded in severing the ropes that held the sail. Relieved from the too great pressure, the little vessel rose more easily, and we heard a voice say cheerfully, “We shall do now.” It was of course impossible to be on deck, but my sister, Mademoiselle G., and I remained crouched on the staircase listening in intense anxiety to the turmoil. When the sail was at last taken in I went down to the children, fearing they would be frightened, but the little creatures had gone to sleep before the gale began, and neither storm nor wind awakened them. It was difficult to stay by them. Exaggerating probably the danger we were in, their lovely, quiet sleep quite unnerved one; so, as it was better to do rather than to think, we busied ourselves as much as possible in making hot tea for those on deck, though even this little task was a work of difficulty, so violently were we thrown from side to side. Occasionally during the night one of us crept up the companion and ventured a hurried look-out.

People have written much about the majestic beauty of a storm. To me it was simply horrible. In the distracting rush and confusion, it seemed as if the elements, seized with hideous rage, were tearing and rending each other like infuriated animals. I looked on with the shuddering horror one would feel if standing between wild beasts who were preparing to spring at each other’s throats. When holding fast by the sides of the companion I ventured a hurried glance upwards. My heart seemed for a moment to stand still, as I saw a huge black mass, rather than a wave of water, towering high above us. So monstrous, so steep did it seem, that until one felt the vessel rising, it seemed impossible that anything framed by man could surmount so precipitous a wall. Piles of foam rose still higher in the air, which was filled with a pale, ghastly light when the moon showed herself occasionally between the great heavy banks of clouds, as if afraid to look fully forth on such a weird scene of chaos and confusion. But worse even than the sight was the overpowering noise—the uproar. Instead of diminishing as day began to dawn the rush and the roar deepened, until the senses seemed carried away by the mighty clamour, and the brain seemed to whirl, as if it also was the sport of the tremendous wind. Everything was crashing, first on one side, then on the other.

In the midst of this wild turmoil a deep unearthly sound rang through the vessel—the slow, heavy toll of a bell that seemed to come from beneath the sea. For a moment our crew, all Italians, but as brave a set of men as ever trod a deck, seemed paralyzed. Again the warning sound pealed forth; several fell on their knees on receiving as they believed so direct an intimation of our fate.

Mr. Harvey and the captain rushed below, for it was absolutely necessary to ascertain the cause. Happily in their anxious search the ominous sound was again heard as they passed through the galley. Two very large copper pans had got loose, and when the vessel rolled heavily one way, they struck against each other, and the blow produced the solemn clang that had appeared so terrific. Fortunately, therefore, the dark omen became a cause of merriment to our superstitious but light-hearted sailors.

Many a ghost-story, probably, has quite as prosaic an origin.

Before the gale began the evening had been oppressively warm; my window on deck had, therefore, been opened. In the hurry and confusion that ensued when the squall came on, it had been closed, but not securely fastened, and I was suddenly and most disagreeably reminded of the omission. Quite worn out with fatigue and anxiety, I had gone to my cabin to lie down for half an hour, when the yacht made an unusually heavy plunge, and the window burst open, just as a cataract of spray and water poured over the deck. Down came a torrent into my cabin, destroying in a minute all the freshness and coquetry of the pretty lace curtains and pink ribbons, and giving me and all my belongings a thorough bath. A more unpleasant sensation can scarcely be imagined, though a few months’ yachting gives one a miserable equanimity about spoiling clothes. Sometimes when a very favourite garment is found covered with a verdant coating of green mould, a few indignant remarks are made upon sea-damp; but, generally speaking, any little spirit on the subject, any little vanity is early crushed, and one remains calm in mind and shabby in person to the end of the voyage.

Towards mid-day on Thursday the gale broke a little, that is to say, there were longer intervals between the squalls, but it was an anxious time, for we were off Cape Karempi, and the most dangerous part of the Black Sea navigation lies between this point and Cape Aia on the northern coast. Nearly half the wrecks take place near this cape. The currents are numerous and very strong, and for more than a hundred miles not a harbour nor place of refuge is to be found. Alas! for the luckless vessel which may be driven too near these cruel rocks! Little hope for her in a northerly gale, should this iron-bound coast, with its miles of foaming breakers, come in sight.

Many were the anxious inquiries we made as to our position with reference to this dreaded cape. Happily, we had every reason to believe that we were well out to sea, and the vessel now lay-to, without shipping a drop of water.

Although worn out with fatigue, it was impossible to sleep all Thursday night, so tremendous was the rolling. We were quite black and blue from the bruises we had in consequence of being so tossed from side to side in our cots.

On Friday morning both sea and wind became more moderate, and for many hours we slept the sound sleep of the tired. In the afternoon we bethought ourselves of our unfortunate menagerie, and went to see how the poor creatures had fared during the storm.

The unlucky geese had been the greatest sufferers. Little they thought when they left the peaceful farmyard at Karani of what was in store for them. The water had been so constantly over the fore part of the vessel, and the cold had been so great, that the men had good-naturedly taken the poor things to the forecastle.

One luckless goose, however, either from fright or from having imprudently committed a slight excess in drinking half a bottle of turpentine, had been seized with fits, and remained in an alarming state for many hours. We were much grieved, thinking her last moment had come, for she was lying on her back, feebly kicking in a deplorable fashion, when, with a supreme effort, she dragged herself into the coal-hole, and convulsively began to swallow some bits of coal.

We left in sadness, thinking this could only be the last expiring struggle; but an hour later we received a bulletin to say the patient was not only alive, but better, and in the evening she was pronounced convalescent, her remedy having proved most effectual.

However, between the fits and the coals, our friend presents a lamentable spectacle: the fits have caused her wings to twist inside out, and the coals have given her such a sooty tinge, that not a trace remains of her once beautiful snowy plumage.

We hear that many a candle has been vowed by the men to their favourite shrines. They have behaved admirably; but few of them had ever been in the Black Sea, and none had seen a storm there before.

Even the imperturbable Charlie says he has never known an “uglier” gale. The crew’s admiration of the behaviour of the Claymore is quite unbounded; they cannot praise her enough. She has certainly weathered the storm gallantly, and has come gloriously out of the combat, without having sustained any injury to speak of—only a rope or two gone and a block broken.

On Saturday morning we were safely anchored off the Water Gate in Sevastopol harbour, and remained there a few days to recruit our somewhat exhausted strength.

Each day brought sad accounts of the numerous wrecks that had taken place in this storm, the most severe that has been known for years.

Amongst other catastrophes, it gave us a great shock to hear of the total loss of the Persian emigrant steamer that we had seen at Sinope. She went down very suddenly early on Thursday morning. A mate and three seamen clung to a spar, were picked up, and brought to Kamiesch. Every other soul on board perished. The men say the vessel was leaky and overladen. It was frightful to think that all those poor creatures we had seen only a few days ago had met with so terrible an end.

The papers are full of the disasters that have taken place.

Before entering the Bosphorus we met the English man-of-war kindly sent by our friends at Constantinople in search of us, for our lengthened absence and the tremendous gale had alarmed them for our safety.

The next day we were at Therapia, perfectly happy, not only in the rest of so charming a haven, but in being once more with most dear and valued friends.

THE END.

BRADBURY, EVANS, AND CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.

13, Great Marlborough Street.

MESSRS. HURST AND BLACKETT’S

LIST OF NEW WORKS.

VOLS. III. & IV. OF HER MAJESTY’S TOWER. By W. HEPWORTH DIXON. DEDICATED BY EXPRESS PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN. Completing the Work. Demy 8vo. 30s. Third Edition.

Contents:—A Favourite; A favourite’s Friend; The Countess of Suffolk; To the Tower; Lady Catherine Manners; House of Villiers; Revolution; Fall of Lord Bacon; A Spanish Match; Spaniolizing; Henry De Vere; The Matter of Holland; Sea Affairs; The Pirate War; Port and Court; A New Romanzo; Move and Counter-move; Pirate and Prison; In the Marshalsea; The Spanish Olive; Prisons Opened; A Parliament; Digby, Earl of Bristol; Turn of Fortune; Eliot Eloquent; Felton’s Knife; An Assassin; Nine Gentlemen in the Tower; A King’s Revenge; Charles I.; Pillars of State and Church; End of Wentworth; Laud’s Last Troubles; The Lieutenant’s House; A Political Romance; Philosophy at Bay; Fate of an Idealist; Britannia; Killing not Murder; A Second Buckingham; Roger, Earl of Castlemaine; A Life of Plots; The Two Penns; A Quaker’s Cell; Colonel Blood; Crown Jewels; King and Colonel; Rye House Plot; Murder; A Patriot; The Good Old Cause; James, Duke of Monmouth; The Unjust Judge; The Scottish Lords; The Countess of Nithisdale; Escaped; Cause of the Pretender; Reformers and Reform; Reform Riots; Sir Francis Burdett; A Summons to the Tower; Arthur Thistlewood; A Cabinet Council; Cato Street; Pursuit; Last Prisoners in the Tower.

“Mr. Dixon’s lively and accurate work.”—Times.

“This book is thoroughly entertaining, well-written, and instructive.”—Examiner.

“These volumes will place Mr. Dixon permanently on the roll of English authors who have rendered their country a service, by his putting on record a truthful and brilliant account of that most popular and instructive relic of antiquity. ‘Her Majesty’s Tower;’ the annals of which, as related in these volumes, are by turns exciting and amusing, while they never fail to interest. Our ancient stronghold could have had no better historian than Mr. Dixon.”—Post.

“By his merits of literary execution, his vivacious portraitures of historical figures, his masterly powers of narrative and description, and the force and graceful ease of his style, Mr. Dixon will keep his hold upon a multitude of readers.”—Illustrated News.

“These volumes are two galleries of richly painted portraits of the noblest men and most brilliant women, besides others commemorated by English history. The grand old Royal Keep, palace and prison by turns, is revivified in these volumes, which close the narrative, extending from the era of Sir John Eliot, who saw Raleigh die in Palace Yard, to that of Thistlewood, the last prisoner immured in the Tower. Few works are given to us, in these days, so abundant in originality and research as Mr. Dixon’s.”—Standard.

“This intensely interesting work will become as popular as any book Mr. Dixon has written.”—Messenger.

“A work always eminently readable, often of fascinating interest.”—Echo.

“The most brilliant and fascinating of Mr. Dixon’s literary achievements.”—Sun.

“Mr. Dixon has accomplished his task well. Few subjects of higher and more general interest than the Tower could have been found. Around the old pile clings all that is most romantic in our history. To have made himself the trusted and accepted historian of the Tower is a task on which a writer of highest reputation may well be proud. This Mr. Dixon has done. He has, moreover, adapted his work to all classes. To the historical student it presents the result of long and successful research in sources undiscovered till now; to the artist it gives the most glowing picture yet, perhaps, produced of the more exciting scenes of national history; to the general reader it offers fact with all the graces of fiction. Mr. Dixon’s book is admirable alike for the general view of history it presents, and for the beauty and value of its single pictures.”—Sunday Times.

DIARY OF THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. Reprinted from “The Daily News.” With several NEW LETTERS and PREFACE. 1 vol. 8vo. 15s.

“‘The Diary of a Besieged Resident in Paris’ will certainly form one of the most remarkable records of a momentous episode in history.”—Spectator.

“The title of this work is familiar, and as we have reason to know pleasantly familiar, to our readers. To them a large portion of the contents of the volume are well known in the necessarily fragmentary and interrupted form in which they first appeared in our columns. In the continuous shape in which they are now presented, with the gaps filled up by the insertion in the proper place of letters which arrived too late for publication, they will not, we believe, be less acceptable. Of the characteristic of these letters it is not for us to speak. The unprecedented interest which they excited as they appeared, and the demand for their republication which has been urged from many quarters, are a better criticism than any which it would be becoming in us to offer. We will only add that, in its collected form, the ‘Diary of a Besieged Resident’ fills a large and handsome volume of nearly four hundred pages.”—Daily News.

IMPRESSIONS OF GREECE. By the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Wyse, K.C.B., Late British Minister at Athens. With an Introduction by Miss Wyse, and Letters from Greece to Friends at Home, by Dean Stanley. 8vo. 15s.

LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF COUNT BEUGNOT, Minister of State under Napoleon I. Edited from the French. By Miss C. M. Yonge, author of the “Heir of Redclyffe,” &c. 2 vols. 8vo. (In April.)

LIFE AND LETTERS OF WILIAM BEWICK, THE ARTIST. By Thomas Landseer, A.E. 2 vols. 8vo, with Portrait by Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A. (Just Ready.)

THE FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE; or, Romance and Reality of Imperial France. By Azamat-Batuk, Special Correspondent of “The Pall Mall Gazette.” 2 vols. post 8vo. (Just Ready.)

FAIR FRANCE: Impressions of a Traveller. By the Author of “John Halifax, Gentleman,” &c. 8vo. 15s.

“A book of value and importance, and which is very agreeable reading. It is bright and spirited, and evinces as much as ever the acuteness of perception and the powers of observation of the writer.”—Post.

“A pleasant book, conceived in a large, kindly, and liberal spirit.”—Daily News.

“This volume will be found pleasant reading.”—AthenÆum.

“A good book on France is just now most welcome, and this is emphatically a good book. It is charmingly readable.”—Globe.

“This is a truly fascinating volume. The book has nothing to do with the present crisis. It is La Belle France:—Paris, with its quiet churches and its gay carnival crowds, and the old provincial cities like Caen and Chartres—that is here described as it was before the black waves of invasion rolled over the land. Years must pass before it will be possible for any to see Fair France as our author was privileged to see her; and this lends a special interest to the pictures here presented to us. There is much that is very beautiful and charming in these recollections. This it is hardly necessary to say to any who know and can appreciate the author of ‘John Halifax.’”—Echo.

FREE RUSSIA. By W. Hepworth Dixon, Author of “New America,” “Her Majesty’s Tower,” &c. Third Edition. 2 vols. 8vo, with Coloured Illustrations. 30s.

“Mr. Dixon’s book will be certain not only to interest but to please its readers and it deserves to do so. It contains a great deal that is worthy of attention, and is likely to produce a very useful effect. The ignorance of the English people with respect to Russia has long been so dense that we cannot avoid being grateful to a writer who has taken the trouble to make personal acquaintance with that seldom-visited land, and to bring before the eyes of his countrymen a picture of its scenery and its people, which is so novel and interesting that it can scarcely fail to arrest their attention.”—Saturday Review.

“We claim for Mr. Dixon the merit of having treated his subject in a fresh and original manner. He has done his best to see with his own eyes the vast country which he describes, and he has visited some parts of the land with which few even among its natives are familiar, and he has had the advantage of being brought into personal contact with a number of those Russians whose opinions are of most weight. The consequence is, that he has been able to lay before general readers such a picture of Russia and the Russian people as cannot fail to interest them.”—AthenÆum.

“Mr. Dixon has invented a good title for his volumes on Russia. The chapter on Lomonosoff, the peasant poet, is one of the best in the book, and the chapter on Kief is equally good. He gives an interesting and highly picturesque account of the working of the jury system in a case which he himself saw tried. The descriptions of the peasant villages, and of the habits and manners of the peasantry, are very good; in fact, the descriptions are excellent throughout the work.”—Times.

“Mr. Dixon has succeeded in producing a book which is at once highly valuable and eminently readable. In our judgment it is superior to any work that has proceeded from Mr. Dixon’s pen, and we heartily recommend it to our readers. The information he conveys is very great, his judgments are evidently the result of much reflection, and his style is singularly forcible and picturesque.”—Standard.

“We heartily commend these volumes to all who wish either for instruction or relaxation.”—Examiner.

“In these picturesque and fascinating volumes, Mr. Dixon carries his readers over a wide range of country, from the Arctic Sea to the southern slopes of the Ural range, from the straits of Yenikale to the Gulf of Riga, and, by the force of brisk, nervous and picturesque language, makes them realize the scenery, manners, politics, poetry of every mile of ground over which he conducts them.”—Morning Post.

“Mr. Dixon’s ‘Free Russia,’ is another valuable addition to the books of travel which he has given us. It reveals to our view the great mysterious people of Eastern Europe.”—Daily Telegraph.

“This is a more important and remarkable work upon the great Muscovite Empire than any foreign traveller has ever even attempted, much less accomplished. Thanks to the writer of these splendid volumes, ‘Free Russia’ is brought clearly, boldly, vividly, comprehensively, and yet minutely, within the ken of every intelligent reading Englishman. The book is in many parts as enthralling as a romance, besides being full of life and character.”—Sun.

“‘Free Russia’ is one of the most remarkable books that has ever been written in our times, of the value of which it is impossible to speak in terms too highly commendatory.”—Messenger.

“Mr. Dixon is delightfully readable. ‘Free Russia’ has afforded us a great deal of pleasure. It is the best work of its clever and versatile author.”—Illustrated News.

RECOLLECTIONS OF SOCIETY IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND. By Lady Clementina Davies. 2 vols. crown 8vo. (In the Press.)

VOL. I. OF HER MAJESTY’S TOWER. By W. HEPWORTH DIXON. DEDICATED BY EXPRESS PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN. Sixth Edition. Demy 8vo. 15s.

Contents:—The Pile—Inner Ward and Outer Ward—The Wharf—River Rights—The White Tower—Charles of Orleans—Uncle Gloucester—Prison Rules—Beauchamp Tower—The good Lord Cobham—King and Cardinal—The Pilgrimage of Grace—Madge Cheyne—Heirs to the Crown—The Nine Days’ Queen—Dethroned—The Men of Kent—Courtney—No Cross no Crown—Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley—White Roses—Princess Margaret—Plot and Counterplot—Monsieur Charles—Bishop of Ross—Murder of Northumberland—Philip the Confessor—Mass in the Tower—Sir Walter Raleigh—The Arabella Plot—Raleigh’s Walk—The Villain Waad—The Garden House—The Brick Tower.

“From first to last this volume overflows with new information and original thought, with poetry and picture. In these fascinating pages Mr. Dixon discharges alternately the functions of the historian, and the historic biographer, with the insight, art, humour and accurate knowledge which never fail him when he undertakes to illumine the darksome recesses of our national story.”—Morning Post.

“We earnestly recommend this remarkable volume to those in quest of amusement and instruction, at once solid and refined. It is a most eloquent and graphic historical narrative, by a ripe scholar and an accomplished master of English diction, and a valuable commentary on the social aspect of mediÆval and Tudor civilization. In Mr. Dixon’s pages are related some of the most moving records of human flesh and blood to which human ear could listen.”—Daily Telegraph.

“It is needless to say that Mr. Dixon clothes the gray stones of the old Tower with a new and more living interest than most of us have felt before. It is needless to say that the stories are admirably told, for Mr. Dixon’s style is full of vigour and liveliness, and he would make a far duller subject than this tale of tragic suffering and heroism into an interesting volume. This book is as fascinating as a good novel, yet it has all the truth of veritable history.”—Daily News.

“It is impossible to praise too highly this most entrancing history. A better book has seldom, and a brighter one has never, been issued to the world by any master of the delightful art of historic illustration.”—Star.

“We can highly recommend Mr. Dixon’s work. It will enhance his reputation. The whole is charmingly written, and there is a life, a spirit, and a reality about the sketches of the celebrated prisoners of the Tower, which give the work the interest of a romance. ‘Her Majesty’s Tower’ is likely to become one of the most popular contributions to history.”—Standard.

“In many respects this noble volume is Mr. Dixon’s masterpiece. The book is a microcosm of our English history; and throughout it is penned with an eloquence as remarkable for its vigorous simplicity as for its luminous picturesqueness. It more than sustains Mr. Dixon’s reputation. It enhances it.”—Sun.

“This is a work of great value. It cannot fail to be largely popular and to maintain its author’s reputation. It bears throughout the marks of careful study, keen observation, and that power of seizing upon those points of a story that are of real importance, which is the most precious possession of the historian. To all historic documents, ancient and modern, Mr. Dixon has had unequalled facilities of access, and his work will in future be the trusted and popular history of the Tower. He has succeeded in giving a splendid panorama of English history.”—Globe.

“This charming volume will be the most permanently popular of all Mr. Dixon’s works. Under the treatment of so practised a master of our English tongue the story of the Tower becomes more fascinating than the daintiest of romances.”—Examiner.

VOL. II. OF HER MAJESTY’S TOWER. By W. HEPWORTH DIXON. DEDICATED BY EXPRESS PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN. Sixth Edition. Demy 8vo. 15s.

Contents:—The Anglo-Spanish Plot—Factions at Court—Lord Grey of Wilton-Old English Catholics—The English Jesuits—White Webbs—The Priests’ Plot—Wilton Court—Last of a Noble Line—Powder-Plot Room—Guy Fawkes—Origin of the Plot—Vinegar House—Conspiracy at Large—The Jesuit’s Move—In London—November, 1605—Hunted Down—In the Tower—Search for Garnet—End of the English Jesuits—The Catholic Lords—Harry Percy—The Wizard Earl—A Real Arabella Plot—William Seymour—The Escape—Pursuit—Dead in the Tower—Lady Frances Howard—Robert Carr—Powder Poisoning.

From the Times:—“All the civilized world—English, Continental, and American—takes an interest in the Tower of London. The Tower is the stage upon which has been enacted some of the grandest dramas and saddest tragedies in our national annals. If, in imagination, we take our stand on those time-worn walls, and let century after century flit past us, we shall see in due succession the majority of the most famous men and lovely women of England in the olden time. We shall see them jesting, jousting, love-making, plotting, and then anon, perhaps, commending their souls to God in the presence of a hideous masked figure, bearing an axe in his hands. It is such pictures as these that Mr. Dixon, with considerable skill as an historical limner, has set before us in these volumes. Mr. Dixon dashes off the scenes of Tower history with great spirit. His descriptions are given with such terseness and vigour that we should spoil them by any attempt at condensation. As favourable examples of his narrative powers we may call attention to the story of the beautiful but unpopular Elinor, Queen of Henry III., and the description of Anne Boleyn’s first and second arrivals at the Tower. Then we have the story of the bold Bishop of Durham, who escapes by the aid of a cord hidden in a wine jar; and the tale of Maud Fitzwalter, imprisoned and murdered by the caitiff John. Passing onwards, we meet Charles of Orleans, the poetic French Prince, captured at Agincourt, and detained for five-and-twenty years a prisoner in the Tower. Next we encounter the baleful form of Richard of Gloucester, and are filled with indignation at the blackest of the black Tower deeds. As we draw nearer to modern times, we have the sorrowful story of the Nine Days’ Queen, poor little Lady Jane Grey. The chapter entitled “No Cross, no Crown” is one of the most affecting in the book. A mature man can scarcely read it without feeling the tears ready to trickle from his eyes. No part of the first volume yields in interest to the chapters which are devoted to the story of Sir Walter Raleigh. The greater part of the second volume is occupied with the story of the Gunpowder Plot. The narrative is extremely interesting, and will repay perusal. Another cause celÊbre possessed of a perennial interest, is the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury by Lord and Lady Somerset. Mr. Dixon tells the tale skilfully. In conclusion, we may congratulate the author on this, his latest work. Both volumes are decidedly attractive, and throw much light on our national history, but we think the palm of superior interest must be awarded to the second volume.”

From the AthenÆum:—“The present volume is superior in sustained interest to that by which it was preceded. The whole details are so picturesquely narrated, that the reader is carried away by the narrative. The stories are told with such knowledge of new facts as to make them like hitherto unwritten chapters in our history.”

From the Morning Post:—“This volume fascinates the reader’s imagination and stimulates his curiosity, whilst throwing floods of pure light on several of the most perplexing matters of James the First’s reign. Not inferior to any of the author’s previous works of history in respect of discernment and logical soundness, it equals them in luminous expression, and surpasses some of them in romantic interest.”

ANNALS OF OXFORD. By J. C. Jeaffreson, B.A., Oxon. Author of “A Book About the Clergy,” &c. Second Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 30s.

Contents:—The Cross Keys; King Alfred’s Expulsion from Oxford; Chums and Inmates; Classical Schools and Benefactions; Schools and Scholars; On Learning and certain Incentives to it; Colleges and Halls; Structural Newness of Oxford; Arithmetic gone Mad; Reduction of the Estimates; A Happy Family; Town and Gown; Death to the Legate’s Cook; The Great Riot; St. Scholastica; King’s College Chapel used as a Playhouse; St. Mary’s Church; Ladies in Residence; Gownswomen of the 17th Century; The Birch in the Bodleian; Aularian Rigour; Royal Smiles: Tudor, Georgian, Elizabeth and Stuart; Royal Pomps; Oxford in Arms; The Cavaliers in Oxford; Henrietta Maria’s Triumph and Oxford’s Capitulation; The Saints Triumphant; Cromwellian Oxford; Alma Mater in the Days of the Merry Monarch; The Sheldonian Theatre; Gardens and Walks; Oxford Jokes and Sausages; TerrÆ Filii; The Constitution Club; Nicholas Amhurst; Commemoration; Oxford in the Future.

“The pleasantest and most informing book about Oxford that has ever been written. Whilst these volumes will be eagerly perused by the sons of Alma Mater, they will be read with scarcely less interest by the general reader.”—Post.

“Those who turn to Mr. Jeaffreson’s highly interesting work for solid information or for amusement, will not be disappointed. Rich in research and full of antiquarian interest, these volumes abound in keen humour and well-bred wit. A scholar-like fancy brightens every page. Mr. Jeaffreson is a very model of a cicerone; full of information, full of knowledge, ‘The Annals of Oxford’ is a work which well deserves to be read, and merits a permanent niche in the library.”—The Graphic.

“Mr. Jeaffreson is, par excellence, a popular writer. He chooses what is picturesque and of general interest. * * No one can read these Annals of Oxford without feeling a very deep interest in their varied contents. * * Mr. Jeaffreson’s sketch of the University under the Stuarts and Georges is most entertaining and instructive.”—AthenÆum.

“These interesting volumes should be read not only by Oxonians, but by all students of English history.”—John Bull.

“This work will add to Mr. Jeaffreson’s reputation, not only as an agreeable writer, but a careful explorer, who carries on his investigations out of the beaten track. We have perused these goodly volumes with much interest. They contain lively descriptions of many of the leading events in connexion with the rise and development of the University; events, too, which have materially influenced our national history; and no unbiassed reader can glide through his pleasant pages without acknowledging the fair and candid spirit in which Mr. Jeaffreson has executed his task.”—Oxford Chronicle.

A BOOK ABOUT THE CLERGY. By J. C. Jeaffreson, B.A., Oxon, author of “A Book about Lawyers,” “A Book about Doctors,” &c. Second Edition. 2 vols 8vo. 30s.

“This is a book of sterling excellence, in which all—laity as well as clergy—will find entertainment and instruction: a book to be bought and placed permanently in our libraries. It is written in a terse and lively style throughout, it is eminently fair and candid, and is full of interesting information on almost every topic that serves to illustrate the history of the English clergy.”—Times.

“Honest praise may be awarded to these volumes. Mr. Jeaffreson has collected a large amount of curious information, and a rich store of facts not readily to be found elsewhere. The book will please, and it deserves to please, those who like picturesque details and pleasant gossip.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

A CRUISE IN GREEK WATERS; with a Hunting Excursion in Tunis. By Capt. Townshend, 2nd Life Guards. 1 vol. 8vo, with Illustrations. 15s.

“Capt. Townshend writes about the foreign lands he has visited with good humour and intelligence. His pictures of life in Algiers are vivid and truthful, and his narrative of boar-hunting in Tunis is especially worthy of notice.”—AthenÆum.

“A thoroughly pleasant and agreeable book, full of picturesque descriptions of notable places, and the present condition, and appearance of some of the most interesting countries of Europe.”—Examiner.

“The most attractive and interesting book of travels of the season, full of acute observation, picturesque description, and exciting adventure.”—United Service Mag.

A RAMBLE INTO BRITTANY. By the Rev. G. Musgrave, M.A., Oxon. 2 vols., with Illustrations. 24s.

“Mr. Musgrave is a man of considerable information, and good powers of observation. His book is interesting and amusing. He sketches the Breton landscapes with force and spirit.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“Mr. Musgrave always writes pleasantly, and manages to combine instruction and entertainment in very agreeable proportions.”—Examiner.

“A valuable, pleasant, and instructive book.”—Post.

WILD LIFE AMONG THE KOORDS. By Major F. Millingen, F.R.G.S. 8vo, with Illustrations. 15s.

“Major Millingen’s interesting volume reads pleasantly as a journal of travel in districts never that we know described before. Major Millingen is a shrewd observer. He gives an interesting account of the Koords, and describes the magnificent scenery of the country with skill and felicity.”—Saturday Review.

“A thoroughly interesting work, which we heartily recommend.”—Examiner.

A HUNTER’S ADVENTURES IN THE GREAT WEST. By Parker Gillmore (“Ubique”), author of “Gun, Rod, and Saddle,” &c. 1 vol. 8vo, with Illustrations. 15s.

“A good volume of sports and spirited adventure. We have thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Gillmore’s work. It would be difficult to speak in too high terms of his pluck, enterprise and energy”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“An interesting, amusing, and instructive book.”—Examiner.

“A volume of exceeding interest, full of exciting and spiritedly told adventure.”—Sunday Times.

“Mr. Gillmore is a keen sportsman and a fearless explorer. His work is full of interest and adventure, and is as well written as it is amusing.”—Messenger.

A TOUR ROUND ENGLAND. By Walter Thornbury. 2 vols. post 8vo, with Illustrations. 24s.

“Mr. Thornbury is deservedly popular as a pleasant, genial writer, and has written two most amusing volumes on some of the most interesting places in England, which we have read with considerable interest, and can heartily recommend.”—Examiner.

“All who know Mr. Thornbury’s racy, vivid, and vigorous style, and his pleasant and graceful way of presenting information to the reader, will be sure to become familiar with his travels through England.”—Daily Telegraph.

“The reader can scarcely fail to find in this book many picturesque incidents and legendary anecdotes alike new and entertaining.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“English tourists should get Mr. Thornbury’s charming book. It contains a large amount of topographical, historical, and social gossip.”—Sun.

TURKISH HAREMS & CIRCASSIAN HOMES. By Mrs. Harvey, of Ickwell Bury. 8vo, with Coloured Illustrations. (Just Ready.)

THE SEVENTH VIAL; OR, THE TIME OF TROUBLE BEGUN, as shown in THE GREAT WAR, THE DETHRONEMENT OF THE POPE, and other Collateral Events. By the Rev. John Cumming, D.D., &c. Third Edition. 1 vol. 6s.

“Dr. Cumming is the popular exponent of a school of prophetic interpretation, and on this score has established a claim to attention. His book furnishes an instructive collection of the many strange portents of our day. Dr. Cumming takes his facts very fairly. He has a case, and the gravity of the subject must command the attention of readers.”—Times, March 6.

“A deeply interesting work. We commend it to all who wish for able and honest assistance in understanding the signs of the times.”—Record.

“This book is intensely interesting from beginning to end, and is marked throughout by the same earnest and conscientious tone which characterises all Dr. Cumming’s writings on this, his favourite subject.”—London Scotsman.

LIFE AND REMAINS OF ROBERT LEE, D.D., F.R.S.E., Minister of Old Greyfriars, Dean of the Chapel Royal of Holyrood, and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. By Robert Herbert Story, Minister of Rosneath; with an Introductory Chapter by Mrs. Oliphant, author of “The Life of the Rev. Edward Irving,” &c. 2 vols. 8vo, with Portrait. 30s.

“We need make no apology to our readers for calling their attention to the life and writings of a man who, by the force and energy of his character, has left an indelible mark on the annals of his country. It is but a small thing for a man to leave a mere name behind him, even though that name be famous; it is a far higher merit to bequeath to posterity a living influence, and this Dr. Lee has certainly accomplished. We cordially commend the perusal of this book to everybody.”—Times.

SPIRITUAL WIVES. By W. Hepworth Dixon, Author of ‘New America,’ &c. Fourth Edition, with A New Preface. 2 vols. 8vo. With Portrait of the Author. 30s.

“Mr. Dixon has treated his subject in a philosophical spirit, and in his usual graphic manner. There is, to our thinking, more pernicious doctrine in one chapter of some of the sensational novels which find admirers in drawing-rooms and eulogists in the press than in the whole of Mr. Dixon’s interesting work.”—Examiner.

LUCREZIA BORGIA, Duchess of Ferrara; A Biography: Illustrated by Rare and Unpublished Documents. By William Gilbert. 2 vols. post 8vo, with Portrait. 21s.

“A very interesting study of the character of Lucrezia Borgia. Mr. Gilbert has done good service in carefully investigating the evidence on which the charges rest which have been brought against her, and his researches are likely to produce the more effect inasmuch as their results have been described in a manner likely to prove generally interesting. His clear and unaffected style is admirably adapted for biography. That Mr. Gilbert will succeed in amusing and interesting his readers may be safely predicted.”—Saturday Review.

THE LIFE OF ROSSINI. By H. Sutherland Edwards. 1 vol. 8vo, with fine Portrait. 15s.

“An eminently interesting, readable, and trustworthy book. Mr. Edwards was instinctively looked to for a life of Rossini, and the result is a very satisfactory one. The salient features of Rossini’s life and labours are grouped in admirable order; and the book, while it conveys everything necessary to an accurate idea of its subject, is as interesting as a novel.”—Sunday Times.

TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST IN JAPAN AND MANCHURIA. By Arthur Adams, F.L.S., Staff-Surgeon R.N. 1 vol. 8vo, with Illustrations. 15s.

“An amusing volume. Mr Adams has acquired a body of interesting information, which he has set forth in a lively and agreeable style. The book will be a favourite with naturalists, and is calculated to interest others as well.”—Daily News.

“A very good book of its kind. The author is an enthusiastic naturalist, taking especial interest in entomology. He is also quick to observe the physical aspects of nature, and the leading characteristics of the people he visits. He has come across some very humorous incidents in his travels, and these he always describes in a lively and amusing style.”—Globe.

FRANCIS THE FIRST IN CAPTIVITY AT MADRID, and other Historic Studies. By A. Baillie Cochrane, M.P. Second Edition. 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s.

“A pleasant, interesting, and entertaining work.”—Daily News.

EASTERN PILGRIMS: the Travels of Three Ladies. By Agnes Smith. 1 vol. 8vo, with Illustrations. 15s.

“A pleasantly written record of Eastern Travels in Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, and Greece. Written by a lady, and narrating the pilgrimage of ladies, it has an interest of its own. The tone is devout, and altogether the book deserves our warm commendation.”—Record.

MY HOLIDAY IN AUSTRIA. By Lizzie Selina Eden. 1 vol. post 8vo, with Illustrations. 10s. 6d.

“A pleasantly-written volume.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“Miss Eden enjoyed her holiday, and her readers will share her pleasure. Her work is easy and fluent in style, lively and pleasant in matter.”—AthenÆum.

A TRIP TO THE TROPICS, AND HOME THROUGH AMERICA. By the Marquis of Lorne. Second Edition. 1 vol. 8vo, with Illustrations. 15s.

“The tone of Lord Lorne’s book is thoroughly healthy and vigorous, and his remarks upon men and things are well-reasoned and acute.”—Times.

MEMOIRS OF QUEEN HORTENSE, MOTHER OF NAPOLEON III. Cheaper Edition, in 1 vol. 6s.

“A biography of the beautiful and unhappy Queen, more satisfactory than any we have yet met with.”—Daily News.

THE BEAUTIFUL IN NATURE AND ART. By Mrs. Ellis. Author of ‘The Women of England,’ &c. 1 vol. crown 8vo, with fine Portrait. 10s. 6d.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. By Cardinal Wiseman. 1 vol. 8vo, 5s.

FAIRY FANCIES. By Lizzie Selina Eden. Illustrated by the Marchioness of Hastings. 1 vol. 10s. 6d.

“‘The Wandering Lights’—the first of the ‘Fairy Fancies’—is a more beautiful production, truer to the inspiration of Nature, and more likely to be genuinely attractive to the imagination of childhood, than the famous ‘Story without an End.’”—Examiner.