Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/223

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Reviews.
197

The little volume before us is devoted to the first group, that of Mythological Folklore. Here the author deals with (1) the folklore of religion; (2) the folklore of the devil; and (3) the world of sorcerers and of goblins. His illustrations appear to be drawn (though perhaps not entirely) from materials already in print; and there are abundant references to the collections in which the folklore of Flanders may be studied. These references alone would render the volume useful, supplemented as they are by a bibliographical appendix. But when we add the systematic arrangement and the care and method with which a large quantity of various information is summarised, it becomes apparent that we have an instalment of a work of no small value. Flemish folklore has hitherto been neglected by students in this country; but with M. Teirlinck's guide-book—which it is to be hoped he will speedily complete by the issue of the remaining parts—in their hands, it ought no longer to be an unknown land. The volume is provided with indexes of subjects and localities, and an excellent analytical table of contents.




Tales from the Field. A Series of Popular Tales from the Norse of P. Ch. Asbjörnsen, By Sir George Dasent, D.C.L. New Edition. London: Gibbings & Co., Limited. 1896.

We are glad to welcome a new edition of this translation of the Norske Folke-Eventyr, Ny Samling, of the distinguished Norwegian collector. Sir George Dasent's qualities as a translator are so well-known that the book needs no commendation. The stories in this collection are well told and often interesting variants of old favourites. The new edition is well got up, but the illustrations are of unequal merit.




Rappresentazioni Popolari in Piemonte. La Passione in Canavese. Pubblicata e Commentata da Costantino Nigra e Delfino Orsi. Torino: Roux Frassati e Co. 1895.

Count Nigra and Signor Orsi published in 1894 a Miracle Play of the Nativity, as played up to 1809 in the Alpine valley