New-York tribune., 1910-05-01

ton from him at the bidding of Jove the guardian
Of the empire T4s t might h 5, seen nKey enough
very day he should die ard Of the sword which
shoult Kill him. Extraordinary precautions were
TAKEN was allowed TO approach him save
after rigorous search. and the corridor where
vellousiy polished marble 50 that it might reflect
the image e,,!3 Of any one apDroachns silently from
Caligula. he suddenly exclaimed one day as he
walked there: something is about 70 happen
which men will talk Of all the world over. Then,
drawing drOU of blood from a pimpIe on his fore
ri@bt al The nv World men had han enoGg5
of this madness Not long after. as he walked in
his nirrOred corridor. some slave. We know not
by whose order. struck him in the belly with
Knife The EMPEROR staggered and tried 10 draw
his Jean01 but some one had already pIuckef IL
away Clutching at the knife of his assassin.
which cut his fingers TO the bone in a last des-
perat. attempt to save himself he thrust
bloody taIons into the eyes Of MS assal,ant beat
Then Parthenius Maximus and others rushed IN
and killed him as he lay on the pavement
Mr. Hutton thus vfyifes his pages whenever
opportunity offers. but he uses such material
only to heighten the grandiose atmosphere
which he has sought to reproduce. You viii
find no historical narrative in his book, but. on
the other hand. you will find what is. perhaps
better for the casual traveIIer-a key to the en-
joynent of what lies beneath the surface Of the
Roman panorama and is most elusive.
We wish that for similar introduction to the
most picturesque of all the cities of the Umbrian
plain we could commend the reader to Mr.. Hey
woods History of Perugia." but must con-
fess to a double disappointment in this pains
taking work The first volume in series on
1.-THE States of Italy" which is coming out
under the general editorship of two competent
scholars Mr.. Edward Armstrong and Mr.. r
Langton Douglas. it carries a heavy responsible
ity, inasmuch it invites support for an IN
commonly useful scheme What could be more
enchanting than kind of library of Italian indi-
ofv-T nj
festations? One longs to have such series
made Immediately attractive that there
might be every chance for it's success. IN
fortunately. Mr. Haywood has made this first
volume in the collection rather a dull book
Furthermore, he has deliberately refrained from
that blending of history and biography to which
we referred at the outset. and in consequence
does practically nothing to show US the Char
acter and environment of Perugia- It is true
that as he says. the town of Perugino and Of
the BagIioni. which is the town known to most
readers who have paid attention to Perugia. IS
a comparatively late development Back Of the
fifteenth century and especially in the two hun
dred years Immediately preceding that period.
the town as a free commune was most itself and
most potent. But in his long survey of that
time of political and military growth Mr. Hey
wood might as a matter of fact, have done
more to unity and color the outlines of his sub
ject, making plain the Perugian phySiognOmy
with more of dramatic force. more of sheer hu-
man interest. As it is, he has composed work
of unimpeachable scholarship, a stOrehOuse OF
information. which will be consulted for pUr-
poses of reference, and for those purposes alone.
Effective episodes and passages are to be met
with to be sure. in this erudite compilation He
tells US of the legends relating 70 the origin OF
Perugia. and, looking at the Well known sCupt-
ured griffin of the town. one may be glad to
know one of the stories accounting for its place
in Perugian heraldry. Once the citizens were
challenged by the people of Narni to a mighty
hunting, with this outcome: The Perugia1S
encountered and slew a griffin in the mountain
which has ever since been called Monte Grif-
fone, and after taking the hide and talons as q
trophy left the f1ayed and CORY carcass to the
Narniesi-a division of the spOils which is said
to account for the fact that the device of PERU
gia is a White Griffin (white being the natural
color of the beast) on red field, while that OF
Narni is a Red Griffin a white field" We are
grateful to Mr.. Haywood for odds and ends like
this and for the notes in his last chapter or the
nature Of the houses and streets in the medieval
city and the filthy habits of the people who used
them But from the bulk of his book, devoted
to an intermnabIe succession of wars, We gather
facts has baeu without any aid from