The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-08-07
Literary Notes.

Mr.. William H. Wheildon's New History of
the Battle of Bunker Hill has reached a sec
ond edition; and he has in preparation Beacon
Hill; the Beacon and the Monument.
Edward King has nearly completed in Paris
his studies of French leaders for the Putnams'
brief biography series, which Higginson edits.
The manuscript of English Radical Leaders,
by Col. r. j. Hinton, is also nearly ready.
Mr.. Gladstone Is about to publish in one vol
ume, under the title of Rome and the New
est Fashions in Religion" his three essays on
The Vatican, Vaticanism, and The Pepe's
Speeches.
Frank Lee Benedict has proven exceedingly
prolific of late. He has recently published
abroad, on the heels of barrett Vaughn,
Saint Simon's Niece, an American story, with
much about the colony at Paris, in itself q
fruitful subject
Edmund G. Stedman is superintendiRg the
publication of his new book on the victorian
Poets" which will be issued in the fall by Os-
good & Co. 1t will form guide book to the
entire'raDge of British poetry under the pres
ent reign.
Lord Lytton is using his leisure in Portugal
in preparing his fathers biography for the
press, and will soon bring out the novel which
was left among his papers, a novel which num-
bers Pausanius among its characters and
gives description of the battle of Platea.
German critics of English works and authors
are becoming more and more popular. One Of
the best reviews of Charles Kingsley and his
works is by a German, Herr Schmidt. He
compares Westward Ho, and Scotfs novels of
the Elizabethan period. analyzes ard dis
courses upon them in a manner which illumin-
ates each even for the English reader.
The September Atlantic will cont ain an arti-
Gle on Protection, by leading protectionist; .
critical paper by DIR. Holmes; a charming study
OF an old seaside town, by the author of Shore
House; Mr.. Scudder's paper on Noah Webster.
postponed from August; the first of Colonel
Warnings articles on the Drainage of Towns
and Cities. with stories, poems, sketches, etc
by various eminent writers.
NJ. Groen Prinaterer has come to the rescue
OF Maurice of SaxoBy against Mr.. Motley's
| portrait OF him in John of Barneveld in a work,
Maurice ct Barneveld. With the exception of
| an introduction, in which he thinks Mr.. Mot
ley has misapprehended the man and the rev.
olution of 1913, be confines himself to the pub
llcation of the correspondence between the two
| men.
Mark Twain will not lecture the coming
season. He prefers, he says, to stay at home
and sulk. In reply to letter from lecture
agent of Boston, Mr.. Clemens writes. 81
really cannot go upon the platform the coming
season. All last Winter sat at home drunk
with JOY over every storm that howled along,
I am expecting to have just as good a time
next Winter, and do not think il noble in YOU
to want to deprive me OF it,
| The Bric-a-Brac series proves q great suc-
cess. 1t is excellently suited to this gossip
| age. The eighth volume contains personal
"reminiscences of O'Keeffe, q popular drama
tist two generations ago; Kelley. a composer,
singer aud actor of that time; and Taylor.
journalist, whose strongest desire was to be at
the tbeater and to know all about the actors
and actresses. A book of theater gossip and
anecdote, with portraits of Foote, Garrick, and
Others
The Athenaum stupidity remarks that "Mr.
Longfellow contributes a poem to the already
| over-bulky literature having for its subject the
American centennial" Why didn't the cock
ney critic read the poem before he said any
thing? Mr. Longfellow's poem, that sweet,
mournful song on the borders of new life, has
nothing to do with centennial patriotism. The
same journal takes up Mr. Niles's Sapphic
ode, without knowing anything about it,iand
says it is to be republished with the old mu-
sic, and join "the avalanche of poetry" de-
scending ION the heads of the enthusiastic
| Americans"
The edition of the English Dramatists, in
the preparation of which Professor Lowell has
been for some time engaged, is likely to be
introduced to the public at an early day, The
first volume VIII be issued during the ap-
| preaching autumn by Messrs. Little, Brown
& Co. The work, which will comprise ten or
twelve volumes, is entitled "Old Plays" {"
Chiefly from the period beginning with Mar
lowe, and ending with Dryden. Pre- fessor
Lowell will furnish introductions and notes to
the volumes. He is at present at work on the
volume of essays, recently announced by
Messrs. Osgood g Co.
Mr.. Smalley gives US this interesting gossi o +:
George Eliot is said to have another novel, in
scope not inferior to "Middlemarch," nearly
ready for publication; to appear in the same
way. The Academy tells us that Capt, Bur-
ton has left London TO inspect the eruptions
and the sulphur mines of Iceland, party OF
| savans accompanying him. Mrs. Burton, who
| remains in London, has achieved so great a
success with her book on the elmer Life of
| Syria that the captain says he expects to be
known in future as Mrs. Burton's husband.
He need not fear. OF living explorers and
oriental linguists he is the greatest, and, some
/ day fba Prrf;o - L:oA
ably ignores HIM, will find it out.
The fact that sundry magazine papers appear
simultaneously in England and America has
been the cause of some talk aside from the
mark. Harper and Brothers state that Mr..
Blacks recent paper in their magazine on the
| Island of Lewis was written foe them, illus
trated for them, but they let Mr.. Black have
| advance sheets to dispose of for his own bene-
fit in England, which he did to the London
News. Likewise, The Rape of the Camp, and
Miss Thackeray's novel, Miss Angel. Castel-
ar's series of papers on The Republican Move-
ment in Europe was written expressly for their
| magazine, and at their suggestion, the author
sending his MS. in Spanish the translation
being done by John Hay, and the proofs sent
| to England for use in the Fortnightly Review.
Mr.. Forster has a mine of new material for
his approaching life of Swift. OF this there
are $50 letters never before published, original
manuscripts of the late portions of his journal
| to Stella, others enabling him to supply omis-
scns and fragments of Swiftis autobiography,
the roll of Trinity College, showing his place as
student bis note books, letter of ordination,
unpublished poems and prose articles, inter-
change of pleasantries with Sheridan, Mrs.
| Whileaway's manuscripts to Dean Swift, COM
| prisiDg later humorous sketches and the un-
| published Journal at Holyhead when detained
by adverse winds. Also poems copiedb by Stella
and the fist edition of Gulliver interleaved,
with the erasures and alterations afterwards
substituted. An etching of Swift by Mr.. Ra-
jou will be the frontispiece of the new work.
Mr.. Charles Nordhoff has found new audi
ence. His excellent little manual, Politics for
Young Americans, has been printed in raised
letters for the benefit of the blind, who want
to know about politics If they cannot take
part in them. In the new form the work
makes large though not heavy quarto volume
of 142 pages, all the letters being good sized
| Cantals in orler that tho Sansitiva finger tins