The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-08 00:00:00

MAGAZINES.

TIIE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY—finds entertainment
galore for its readers in " Parisian Eccentricities,"
the suggestive theme of its brilliant opening article.
Here, too, iu the December number the Dublin is
remarkable, for inasmuch as it brings to a close
J. S. Le Fanu's long protracted, and at times en-
thralling serial story of " haunted Lives." By way
of compensation, " Our Absent Friend" puts in an
appearance with a first chapter— while there aro
consecutively two chapters of "My Own Story,"
and six chapters of " Up and Down the World."
With these and four other papers of lesser interest
the Dublin completes its issue for the present t welv e
month.

THE CORNIIILL—though excellent enough in itself,
cheers us mainly this month with its announcement
in a flyleaf, that in an early number of it will be
commenced a New Serial Story by Charles Reade.
Pleasant tidings for all those who can appreciate
true originality in imaginative literature, and who
hold in grateful remembrance, as we certainly do
ourselves, Hard Cash, Christie Johnstone, and
Never too late to Mend, and Charles Reade's own
exclusive portion (and it was the main part of the
whole) of that wonderfully daring out-Dumas-ing-
of-Dumas--Foul Play. Meanwhile—waiting for
Charles Reade's new serial story now promised as
forthcoming—we have here " That Boy of North-
cott's" (who certainly is going it, according to
the showing of the illustration) and the pretty,
gentle tale (is it not by Miss Thackeray ?) of
" Letties Lisle." " Army Reform" is a solid per-
tinent argument, having an eye at once to economy
and to efficiency.
BELGRAVIA—is still great in narrative. It has
its three serial tales now running abreast—" Robert
Ainslie," " My Enemy's Daughter," and " Char-
lotte's Inheritance." The last, Miss Braddon's
--a tale, that, however, has been already
completed in a separate form. The first,
Anonymous, under the main title of " Bound
to John Company," Robert Ainslie being the
hero of it, by right both of his adventures and
his misadventures. The second serial in our enu-
meration, but the first as it happens in the present
number, is by J. M'Carthy, already known as
the author of " Paul Massie." The illustrations to
Belgravia are still profuse; and it is noticeable that
we have among the number of the literary contri-
butors names as well known as those of George
Sala, Walter Thornbury, William Sawyer, and
John Heraud.

MACMILLAN—wiII delight the believers in Gold-
win Smith, the number of whom, we believe, how-
ever, to be very restricted, and of which number we
certainly are not one—by leading off with one of
.his oracular utterances upon another great English
Statesman—" Peel." Happily Sir Robert Peel's
patriotism, genius, eloquence, popularity, and fame
in history, have strength enough in, them to survive
the blame, or (worse still) the praise of Mr. Goldwin
Smith, whose self-sufficiency, not to say bumptious-
ness, may be regarded henceforth as appertaining
less to England than to America. 'The one other in
any way noticeable production in this December num-
ber of Macmillan is a new, but it must be added, a
very unsatisfactory and diluted version of the Dies
Irx—a version, at the very outset, of which Sir
Walter Scott's lines are openly laid under con-
tribution.
COLBURN'S UNITED SERVICE—has its usual di-
versity of professional themes—" Naval Politics,"
" Military Prisons," an "Adventure [another of
them !] in India," and—what the regular reader of
the blue-and-red United Service will turn to pro-
bably with the greatest eagerness, the conclusion
of the narrative of " The Secret Despatch, or the
Adventures of Captain Balgonie."
LONDON SOCIETY—in one or two instances, is mill
deliciously illustrated. " Pensive Thoughts," for
example, as a vignette portraiture, is charming.
here, too, as in the Corn/till, the principal good
news for the subscribers will be found in a flyleaf
announcement to the effect that a new novel is
about immediately to commence. In the instance
of the magazine before us, the serial tale thus
announced will begin in January, and will be from
the hand of Mr. Whyte Melville.
THE ARGOSY—still " laden with golden grain,
floats to us across the interval of another month
with fresh supplies of " Anne Hereford " and
" Buried Alone." The lovers of romance founded
on fact will do well to read " Tasso's Story" as it
is here related : and those who prefer romance
emanating purely from the imagination of a grace-
ful writer will turn either to "Mr. North's Dream"
as it is recounted at the close of this number of the
Argosy by the Editress herself, the author of "East
Lynne," or to " Charlotte Morel," a contribution
so entitled from the hand of Julia Kavanagh.
THE ST. JAMES'S.—Anything worse than the
illustrations of this periodical it would be hard to
imagine. They are simply execrable. The wood-
cuts of the cheapest of the illustrated weeklies, such
as the London Journal fur example, are gems of art
compared to them. As for the literary contents,
they include among them no less than four serial
stories--"A Life's Assize," " Cut Down like Grass,"
" Hirell," and " Bisset's Yoath"—of which last-
mentioned tale there is doled out in the present num-
ber one solitary chapter. The engraver of the em-
bellishments (!) in the St. James's ought, as it ap-
pears to us, to be at once cashiered.

- GOOD WORDS—has this unwelcome peculiarity
about it for December, that it closes the charming
serial story with which for so many months the
readers of this very clever and wonderfully popu-
lar magazine have been fascinated by the author of
"John llalifax"—her last completed fiction, en-
titled " The Woman's Kingdom." Now that we
have done with Edna and her belongings, we can
only hope that 11.1.issDinah Muloch will begin an-
other new serial tale in Good Words as soon as
possible.
GOOD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG--in its second
number, improves upon us. It is in a fair way al-
ready to become iudispensible to the little people :
and will soon rival in popularity, in the nursery
and the schoolroom (after school hours) the chil-
dren's old friend and familiar favourite--

AUNT JUDY.—This merry little brochure, pub-
lished monthly among the more pretentious maga-
zines, and the coming of which is always hailed
with delight by the young ones, is still industri-
ously edited and principally written by good, dear
Mrs. Gatty. Aunt Judy is not only merry, but
wise, and is almost as full of wholesome instruction
as of innocent amusement.

THE SUNDAY MAGAZINE—Iike its companion
Good Words, is lavishly and in a great measure
very cleverly illustrated. As for the letterpress it
need hardly be described. It is worth mentioning,
however, as significative of its character, that among
the contributors to- the present number are three
Doctors of Divinity, a Rev. Professor, and a Dean,
the last mentioned being the Dean of Canterbury.
THE MASK—has now reached the close of its first
volume, and, for the sparkling charms of its writ-
ing and for the graceful grotesquery of its em-
bellishments, is entitled to our heartiest thanks and
our sincerest congratulations.

Among the miscellaneous periodicals not already
particularised mention should here be made also of
Le Follet, as still the organ of the " Grand Monde,"
meaning the little one ; of Science Gossip, as still
a marvellously gathering together of curious facts
illustrative of the wonders of creation ; and of
Ilibberd's Gardener's Magazine, as a repertory of in-
formation of great value to the horticulturist and
floriculturist.

* * As we close our notices of the magazines for
December our old friend the New Monthly
comes lagging in, long after all the others, on this
the Bth day of the month : and therefore altogether
too late for its contents to be particularized. It is
interesting to know, by the way, that its Editor, our
popular romancist, llarri:Eon Ainsworth, has already
announced as immediately forthcoming in the other
magazine of his editing, to wit Bentley's Miscellany
(which latter magazine for the present month, by
the way, we have not received at all), has
already announced as immediately forthcom-
ing in Bentley's Miscellany, another serial story
from his unflagging pen—that pen of fas-
cination that, we can never forget, wrote for us,
years upon years ago, such 'witching tales of ro-
mance and adventure as " Rookwood,""Crichton,"

and " Jack Shepherd." It is not the least graceful
act marking the close of Mr. Disraeli's Premiership
that, as First Minister of the Crown, he has just
awarded a pension of £lOO a year upon the Civil
List to a brother novelist and contemporary man of
letters as popular as William Harrison Ainsworth.

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