New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-28

~ AZ Harvard has bcen fortunate in escaping delays
In publication The third volume OF his DC
tionary' has followed the second ana hrst WITHIN
six months, and this beautiful WORK WI"
undoubtedly be completed before the end OF inc
vs.r since only one volume remains. We have
already explained the laborious methods adop'eu
nv NJ Havard in order to secure for his work
..rnrle,sneSs and accuracy unattained by his
,,rodecessors He has spent many years in gather
ina material from the Royal Archives OF France,
from the archives OF noble families. from
inventories, wills, and all manner OF ancient
priyate records Of household articles, furniture
and decorative objects. This great mass OF
material, covering the centuries since the thr-
feenth, has been digeSted, arranged in chrome
logical order and edited. Each name IN the
Dictionary" is accompanied by brief descrip-
lion, which is followed by longer or shorter
Kuryey of the uses Of the article in historical
order, with abundant citations from the docu-
nents of successive periods. In fact, NJ Hazards
plan differs from many others in the prominence
given TO evidence and TO references, instead Of
the editors opinions and assertions. Not that
M Hazard is colorleSs historian. lie has
opinions Of his own which frankly expressed,
and his attitude towards Violetle- Due shows his
willingness to fight for his own hand
In any needful controversy. But the value OF MS
work is increased by the fact that it represents
history gathered directly from the original docu-
ments.
The third volume begins with /, and carries us
through D. The first important article deals
with images" name to-day given by the maker
of furniture 10 a stamp impressed by the AID OF
, relief plate, and often illuminated, which Is
hung upon the wall. Formerly this word had
far more extended significance, and uniformly
designated ell the representations which artists
khnr H. fpfinp q
human beings or inanimate objects NJ. Hazard
recalls the fact that in the Middle Ages images
were made not only in honor of ancestors or iv-
ing persons, for igious purposes, but also as
n means Of vicariOus punishment Thus the Chron-
icle Of Tourney relates that in the fifteenth GER
tury' the image of a certain Richard SogneVal
was hung head downward. In the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries there were many examples OF
the old superstition that punishment inflicted
upon a likeness Of an enemy would be felt by the
original, belief which still fingers among some
OF the West Indian negroes and other races.
Novefsts as we'll as historians have often recorded
the tortures7 inflicted upon waXen images OF
fees, and a very different Of the image, as an
Inspired counsellor, was emphasized by scott IN
his portrait of Louis ri. But the little lraden
images upon the cap OF that crafty monarch
Afforded no idea Of the magnifcence which these
objects afterward attained Toward the close Of
the sixteenth century, however, the word lost its
universal significance and in the eighteenth cen
tnry it be gan TO mean simply a common stamp,
and in other meanings II was replaced by statuete,
group, figure, bas-reef, etc. Thus imagrrie7
to-day signifies the fabrication Of and trade in
common stamps prints or impressions, generally
taken in typography, often highly colored, and in
1ended TO be placed directly on the wall"
One of the many instances of the disappearance
Of word or its changed usage is afforded in
" Inde,7 which was constantly used in the four
teenth and fifteenth centuries sgnifving
the blue OF the sky when applied
10 stnfs Again, the name Isabelle was
bnce applied 10 shade of yellow for
a reason, rejecting little credit upon the of
Isabelle of CASTLE. We need not direct attention
TO the consequence OF the article upon ivory, which
is accompanied by adequate illustrations There
was @ passion for ivory in the Middle Ages, which
was intensified by its comparative rarity and the
difficulty of importing it. They did not
hesitate to employ antique bas-reliefs and some
times singularly profane ones, for the Ornamental
ton Of holy books In his treatment Of the art
of Japan NJ Hazard is less trustworthy than in
his study of European antiquity. lie regards
Gonse as the first authority, but il has been shown
that Mr.. Gonses taste, knowledge and judgment on
many points are fallible. Tn this volume, how
sver. the subject is necessarily dismissed with
comparatively few generalitieS, which are usually
harmless. at least. Gardens Counters
Games" Playthings7 and Lamps among
the more important subjects which follow, and
H Hazard guides us TO an acquaintance with the
1musements and the practical economies of the
Niddle Ages. Under Library" we learn that
book borrowing is by no means = modern evil
Even in the fifteenth century book borrowers
were already considered the worst enemies OF bib
and odd limit
that this has always been the case. To preserve
his books ScalIger had written on the door of his
library Go 10 the booksellers" Du Monster, il
we may believe Tallemant, wrote upon the door
of his apartment at the Louvre, The devil take
book borrowers" M. Hazard retraces the history
Of the Royal Library and other large French libra
rieS. Passing TO the subject OF beds, author
leads US from mattresses placed on the ground,
according 10 the custom even at court pre-
Vious TO the fifteenth century, 10 the aston
lshing procession Of 413 beds, all Of rare
5uxury," which were included IN the inventory of
that truly magnificent spendthrift, Louis XIV.
Beds for winter and beds for summer beds of
Justice and of honor, and others which have pla.d
. part in grand ceremonies are described at a
length which is certainly justified, for as NJ.
Hazard says, PARTICLES of furniture important as
these often reveal the physical peculidrites in
tellectual or moral tendencies In those days the
construction of bed was not, with US, aban-
doped 10 the care and taste of a furnsher more or
less inspired" Beds Of justice, Of repOse, camp
beds and variety Of others furnish ~ Hazard
with abundant material for entertaining racontage.
He quotes Saint Simon, who tells Of An improve
ment upon one homcly use OF bed by tlmid peo-
pie. Whenever il thupdered Nine de Saint
Herein crawled under her bed her hands and
knees, and then made all her servants lie upon the
bed one upon the other, in a heap in order that, if
the lightning should strike, it might exhaust its
effect upon them before reaching her.
Under "mobilier," personal effects NJ Hazard
eoofinuac the tai of evolntion in