Charles Gounod. From the French. By the Hon. W. Hely
Hutchinson. (W. Heinemann.)—This is the record of a remark- able career and the description of an interesting personality. Charles Gounod had artistic powers of an unusual kind. If he had not been a great musician he would have been a great artist. So at least good judges thought. When he was at Rome as the holder of the Grand Prix for music, he worked with Ingres. That great painter said to him, "If you like I will get you back to Rome with the Grand Prix for painting." He was able, it seems, to criticise his own work as a composer with singular detachment. No one probably estimated it more severely. Both his auto- biography and his letters witness to the man's genuine character. We have seldom seen a book of this kind more uniformly pleasant to read.
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