The Portland daily press., 1874-09-16
I.itararY NOtes.

The old idea OF science in stories is to be
revived by Mrs. Millicent Fawcett prof
Fawcett's wife) in small volume called
''Tales in Political Economy" to be pub
lished by the Macmillans. The book is in
tended to explain in an easy manner some Of
the more important principles Of economic
science.
An interesting collection of Confederate
schools books has been made by Robert Clarke
& Co. Apropos of this, correspondent
writes to the Nation that he once saw ct
Columbia Southern primer, in which the
story of the good centurion was told, and this
account of him given: "He was good man
and Shareholder"
A new volume by Mr.. Francis Gallon, un-
der the title of ''English Men of Science"
will give very complete statistics of the ''Na-
ture and Nurture ''Race and Birthplace"
Occupation of Parents,' and Hereditary
Pedgrees'' of English scientific men,. 1t will
develop in special department, in greater
variety of detail, the branch of inquiry insti-
tuted by its author in his book on "Heredit-
ary Genius" The MacMillans viii publish
the book.
OF Mr.. A. Thayer's long-hoped for "Life
of Beethoven" which he has been writing on
since 1850 the Springfield Republican states
that he has reached the years 1s09-10, in the
third volume of the work, which Is TO be
completed in four. Two volumes have al
ready been published in German, by Weber,
of Berlin, ,and Mr. Thayer will not enter upon
the English edition till he reaches the fourth
in German.
the Atheneum has the following pleasant
note in general:
We seldom come across a volume Of poetry
from America that we are not glad to have
read. 1t may be that only the best speci-
meLs find their way to this country; but GER
tain it is that those which do come are rare
ly il ever marked by the faults, both metrica
and grammatical, to say nothing of the utter
absence of sense, which we too often have to
reprehend 10 the verses OF our compairiots.
While in Germany Bayard Taylor applied
himself largely to his long-cherished plan of a
biography OF Goethe, upon which, says the
Tribune, she is layishng his ripest culture
and his most loving and faithful toll. During
his stay in Gotha he has had every facility
Tor the prosecution af his researches, and
his studies have been cordially aided
both by the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-
Eisenach and by German men of letters
| while he has had the further advantage Of
| long and interesting converse with Carlyle
upon seme of the most important periods Of
| Goethe's career" Mr.. Taylor now returns
to mis- country home in Pennsylvania, for
fresh work, whence he will reappear in De-
| cember on tbe lyceum rostrum.
| Mr.. Edmund Yates letter to the Tribune
as to his novel of ga Dangerous Game" was
the worst criticism yet made on him. This
bit should be preserved as matter of liter
| airy history:
1t was simply sensational story produced
expressly for the requirements Of journal
| having large class of readers who look less
to the manner of composition than tn the
matter placed before them, and for whom
the writer must seek to provide power Of
interest rather than grace of style. II was
written piecemeal, at intervals of Herald
work in London, Paris, Vienna, Munich,
Frankfort, Madrid and st. Petersburg, and
indeed there is scarcely European capital
in which chapter of it has not been con-
cocteG. Such course. as you will see, is
not very favorable for literary competition,
and as the proofs for the English collected
edition was corrected by friend during my
absence in Russia, have never looked az
the book since, and have not copy by me
to refer TO.