The Percy Society have just issued _A New and Mery Enterlude called the
Triall of Treasure_, from the edition printed at London by Thomas
Purfoote, 1567, edited by Mr. Halliwell. The other works issued by the
Society since May last (when the year's subscription became due) have
been _A Poem_ (satirical) _of The Times of Edward II_., edited by the
Rev. C. Hardwick, from a MS. at St. Peter's College, Cambridge, of which
a less perfect copy from an Edinburgh MS. was printed by Mr. Wright, in
the volume of _Political Songs_, edited by him for the Camden Society;
_Notices of Fugitive Tracts and Chap-Books, printed at Aldermary
Churchyard, Bow Churchyard, &c._ by Mr. Halliwell; _The Man in the
Moone, or The English Fortune Teller_, edited by the same gentleman,
from the unique copy printed in 1609, now in the Bodleian; and lastly,
_The Religious Poems of William de Shoreham, Vicar of Chart-Sutton in
Kent, in the Reign of Edward II_., edited by Mr. Wright, from a
contemporary manuscript.
It is doubtful whether Mr. Shaw's skill as an artist, fidelity as a
copyist, or taste in the selection of his subjects, entitle him to the
higher praise. We leave to those who are familiar with his _Dresses and
Decorations of the Middle Ages_, and other admirable productions, the
settlement of this point. He has just published the first number of a
new work, _The Decorative Arts of the Middle Ages_, the object of which
is to exhibit the peculiar features and general characteristics of
decorative art, from the Byzantine or early Christian period to the
decline of that termed the _Renaissance_. This beautiful work--for
beautiful it is--is extremely well timed, as it appears at a moment when
our manufacturers who desire to display their skill at the great
exhibition of 1851, must be most anxious to see "the principles by which
our ancestors controlled their genius in producing articles of taste and
beauty, from the precious metals, from enamels, from glass, from
embroidery, and from the various other textures and materials on
which they delighted to lavish their skill and ingenuity (both for the
various services of the Church, and also as accessories to the luxuries
of the wealthy of all classes)." The present number contains: 1. "An
exquisite Cup, designed by Holbein for Queen Jane Seymour;" 2. "Stained
Glass of the 13th Century, from the Cathedral of Chartres;" 3. "An
exquisite Specimen of Embroidery (of the date of 1554), from a picture
of Queen Mary belonging to the Society of Antiquaries;" and, 4.
"Iron-work from the Tomb of Eleanor of Castile." It will be seen, from
this enumeration of them, how varied and well selected are the subjects
of this new work of Mr. Shaw, and how well they are adapted to answer
the end which he has in view.
Messrs. Leigh Sotheby & Co. will sell on Thursday next, and the two
following days, "The valuable and select library of William Ashby Ashby,
Esq., of Queenby Hall, Leicestershire," consisting of standard works in
English history, and the best editions of Latin, Italian, and French
Classics, &c. all in the choicest old morroco, russia, and other
handsome bindings.