New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-14
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
STUDIES IN ANTIQUITIES AND POPULAR
CUSTOMS.

PsscnItv and Professor OF Anatomy Mason ,, Hv
STATIONS, san. iond SG'aY 3, S E N '''
PREHISTORIC MAN ANp 5pA Hih II iylu s1
BY Cecil Alden Octave. PIP XIII W. T. AP'''
u.pR1ACE CUSTOMS IN MANY LANDS. r BY the
i Hep z octave. pp. XII ssS D. Appleton CO.
MODERN MYTHOLOGY BY o AnGTe~ pp A' XIV. III.
Longmans. Green CO.
", w,ndle's little book Is a very sa''s'a''0,'
summary OF the results OF invesusa''ohS .""N
IN recent years in caves and oarro"e a"u
Client places OF the British Islands he Is ou"e
a. .nnea, 70 France for adequate relics OF 'he
cave jewellers. though these people ie'' ""Oe'
less remarkable. in England. he io'o"s
customary division Of the races tna' i"""''
the Islands from paeolithic men GOWN " wv
Teutonic invasions. and his theory IS app"'
entity that the blood of all these races II "'"eNN
IN chat highly complex race Whch no" po0p'
a.. pr;,,sb islands" He traces Drudism back 10
The neople OF the stone age before the co''''"e
~ the Celtic stock But the Druid OF their ''"e
was about equivalent 10 the medicine man Vi
the American Indians. and not the aoo'a''
nersonage imagined by the classic WRITER'S ~
these people Of the later stone age the au'"o
Is inclined TO attribute much OF the more an
tioue folklore Of the British isands' i"e'
noy even have been far enough advanced 10
hold the doctrine OF metempsychosis' IheE "e'e
stu known as a separate race 10 the Nei's VA
Ireland when the latter had become Chris''a"s'
- oro nv two words OF their language have
been preserved The Celts whether 1ae's VI
pr,,one had tools and weapons OF bronze before
they left the Continent and. OF course '"a'
General civilization which formed the beginning
n
,,or,ar DR. Windle assigns Stonehenge and Ave
hurry ard all the menhirs and dolmens that re-
main 70 excite modern wonder at the skill OF
savage man in handling enormous masses OF
rock with such appliances as ne must have had
while thew were still busy perfectns their
bronze tools and weapons there came among
them q race that might have raised them az
once N the highest civilization II they couid
have relinouished their traditions. DIT Wlnuie
discusses the question whether or not the Ro-
man occupation was more than mere occupa-
,ion and decides In the negative Inc vast
nuhio works and the towns Of the foreign army
were not understood by the natives Ihese
were tribesmen when the invader came anu
tribesmen they remained, though ChristiaHI'S
was introduced among them and they mao 'he
beginnings Of literature in their own IAN
euage Even the political and military oreahi-
cation of the Roman towns was ABOVE theii
powers Of imitation. In this matter ne follows
and agrees with Mr. CONNIE. After STUDY OF
Saxon and Danish invas!ons. Dr. Windle en-
beavers to distinguish certain regions OF Eng
land in which one or another Of the ancient
races predoninates. but he frankly acknowl-
edges that the problem is a difficult one
The general condition Of knowledge on these
subjects Is shown by the fact that Mr.. Hutchln-
son instead Of allowing that Stonehenge Is or
Celtic origin. almost convinces himself that II
was built by the dwarfsh race men OF the stone
age whom he supposes 10 be the original elves
and fairies Of the later folklore. He concedes'
however that Stonehenge Is still a mystery.
As TO the dwarfs-he holds that in general the
prehistoric races were supernatural 10 their
immediate successors whose traditions still sur
vive OF course see how the thing
might work so that the little fellows with stone
tipped arrows would be dwarfs to the Celts and
Teutons and the latter be giants to Them and
how tales started in such a misconception might
survive in modern fairy stories. But 1t seems
doubtful practice to call such conjecture scien-
thc A modern civilized man does not deem
savage his SUPERIOR yet. a rule, this theory
applied to fairy tales makes the man with
bronze weapons and the advanced culture Of
his time the conscious inferior Of the little
man with weapons and tools Of stone. A par
ticuar feature Of Mt Hutchinson's volume is
vigorous attack the theory of the great ice
sheet He has reason his side in this matter.
But that only goes to prove how closely all these
scientific theories border on romance Mr..
Hutchinson comes down 10 the realm OF COM
parative certainty in his entertaining book on
marriage customs Here he deals mainly with
practices Of the present day among various
treated by scientists like Westermarck. and only
occasionally ventures an opinion to the mean
ing Of some unique ceremony.
Andrew Lang succeeded after great deal
of writing in evoking some discussion Of his
anthropological theories from Max Miller. and
now ne replies at considerable length 10 the
incidental criticism which he received He
seems to have convicted the oxford professor OF
not reading very attentively his writings He
also proves conclusively that he and Professor
Muller argue from different premises. To an
outsider 1t appears as II their respective theo-
ries might both be right IN a general way. Pro-
fessor Miller has often been criticised for rnsh-
ness in details. and Sir Richard Burton once.
at least paid the same dubious compliment 10
Mr.. Lang. II will be a long time before the
origins Of mythology are all made out Mr.
Lang adds TO his polemic very interesting
essay on the fre-walk" in which he explains
the immunity with which religious enthusiasts
in various places tread upon beds OF live Goals
without being burned. by the insensibility to
fire which he observed in D. D. Howe. the
spritualist. The essay is fun Of that varied
learning Of which Mr. Larg has so clever a
mastery.
MR.. SERVISS on "WILLIAM TELL"