New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-02-05
LITERARY NOTES.

u. ,.roo edi,,ops in week. and fourth is just out
rio library of the late Mr.. Huth, the Eng
Iish biblior hilc ia to be eataogned' "oiA y" " Nv"
already begun and to complete H. years '''''s a.
least will I've necessary. IL hcApVVVVu w "
thick ROYAL octave volumes e,
RET Uortc's Drift From Two Shores mas
,oo, unfinished in Ieipsic in what is known as the
.T,uchnitz Edition. to which have been adoeu HIS
=, Iavls Of the Foothills" " Gabriel 'ohloN' wv
Men OF SANDY Bar" " Thankful Blossom ana l"o
story Of Niue This edition Is said I" ntV authorized
one for the Continent Of Europe -.
Tho first volume Of the new subscription
cation Of Huskiu works will he ready near the emu VI
this month al John Wiley sons. IL Is one Vi TUG NV
,oluoes which the Modcrl Painters" will comprise
Tb,s edition will be octave IN SIZE on eN1'" p''i
,,h mates ana vood-cuts carefully copied IRON INC
English edition Each chapter viii have an nd cVen
head aud foOt.plcCc. Inc stones OF NV"'N' gu"
Lamps also IN preparation
Ccrman writer has recently published q
ooupnlct in which he makes criticism of Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet that is practical enough III o
ideal of love presented in this play lie mas uo'ui"
admire Juliet is blamed Tor having fallen IN io'e WIN
Romeo al first sight aud Is written down al uuu'i
daughter for having given Romeo her promise TO marry
him without obtaining her mothers permission III,
ebararor of Romeo is admired sim less. Had he hNeu
nnscr the laws OF Prussia he would have been nhcu
heavily for taking from her parents girl not vet six
teen years of age It's probable too That he wof n"'o
cvcloppdia of sacred poetry Will be pun
,hod ms wear nv Dodd Mead Il Co. It Is the purpose
% max. II a very comprehensive work. something a'cr
fbe plan of Bryauts Library of Poetry ana song u'
10 limit the selections to religious verse Ihcic nav
bcen many compilations OF religious poetry lu !o''
past hut the aim VIII bc to make this one the Iepie7'n
tat,ye book Of IFS kind. Editors OF wide experience are
already ENGAGED upon IL. The Lie OF Bshop
Cummns nj TINS house has been ont less IMAM "'fA.
and the first edition Is already exhausted !" VIC"
the progress made by the Reformed Episcopal move
mcnt N Great Britain, part OF the cduoh was '' ~
once TO London
A correspondent asks which are the largest
three libraries in the world and which the largest thFee
In this country. BY far the largest IN the WoIld Is INC
National Library at Paris, which in le'4 contained
100000 printed books and 10000 manuscripts
Which the next largest IS il Is cut TO say lor 'ne
British Museum aud the Imperial Library OF ~ refers
burg both mad in 1s7i 100000 volumes. After them
,omcs the ROYAL Library of Munich with ITS 9ooooo
books. TIE Vatican Library at Rome is sometimes
erroncousv supposed 5e among the largest who III
point Of fact Il surpassed 30 lar az the Puh"ei VI
volumes goes. nv than sixty European coIecuoHs
II contains lO5 900 printed hooks and 2550O manu-
tcruts The National Library at Paris IS one OF the
very oldest in Europe having been founded IN I''V
while the British Museum dates from 1888, or time
more than f0ur hundred years later In the OhlIeu
States the largest the Library Of Congress ut Wash
incon, which IN 1874 contained 261 900 volumes Inc
BOSTON Public followed very closely after it with
26o50O volume and the Harvard University collection
came next with 100000. The Aston and Mercantile Of
Ncw-York. are next. each having $4,000 Among the
colleges aiicr HarvMd's Library comes Naies Win
100000. Dartmouth's il next With 10000, and then
came III order Cornell with 10000; tie University of
virginia with $4,000; Bowdoin with 50 600; the Uni
VerSIty of South Carolina. with 10000; Ann Arhor,
10000: Amherst. 10000; PrncetoE, 5000; wesleyan
2j,jOO; and columbia, 25,uuo
The poets laureate OF England make up a
1i.+ va mn has lis
been published in London. which relates with minute
ness sud accuracy tn history oi this Office, which for
go wear, il has pleased the Kings Of England 10 MI
with some daily appointed poet. o. these Iaurcatc'
there have fourteen, and The 1mea@"Ht points out
that OF them have been chosen from the hrt rank
Of repiu- each the most ilust0us poet Of his age;
that three Others have been learned ana dlgnhed
writers of great distinction, while one was man or
some genius but Of low instincts and degraded man
hers During the careers Of Addison Pope and DRYDEN
the representative OF EullSh poetry, for period OF
twenty-three years was one Nahum Tate, who trav-
estied the Psalms adapted Shakespeare, stole from Mil
ton wrote verses for Purcell ana whO in spite Of his
association with nustrious men, DID not lose So for
moment his Inherent vulearity Of mlnd' or polish
his uncouth and dcbascd style' During another TWEEN
ty-threc years which Byron, Colcndge, scott Moore
Campbell Wordsworth and COwper were cnrchlng liter
ature with their master works, the nominal head OF
Euelsh literature was one Henry James lyc Henry
James Pye was a Captain in the Berks militia
aud respectable police magistrate, hut " III
capable OF str.ugug four rhymes together without
uppardouable fault OF style" There rdIcue heaped
upon him from many quarters bat IN spite OF 1t he went
Oh patiently fabricatug his New Year Odes and his
birthday oics, putu series Of forty-siX. uuhccdtu
md apparcntlv unconscious Of the chorus OF laughter
Early in the eighteenth century the laureatcp to the
lot of the Lawrence Eusdcn than whom the history
of poetry does not present = figure more pueousy
mean more rldculouslv obscure" There not even
IN his own day voice to defend thi. drunken pIIson
mud fool Of the laurel" Finally, IN 1880. be les gucd
the outraged laurel and his life " In bout Of drunken
ness" and was succeeded by Coley Clbhcr. William Day
cnaut who was laureate after Ben Jonson, went into
exile during the Civil Wars and ID 1850 was captured
by Parliamentary cruisers al the head of Otlla bound
for virginia. ii lite was, however, spared, and he
owed to 10 less eminent republican aud poet than
John Milton Tie greatest name with which the Office
has been Identified i'm England j. john Dryden, and his
H. the only case Of the aDdcaOu voluntary or enforced,
of an English laureate. the time of Pye the Ohce
has ro.ancl H. lost diguuy. for Wordsworth s0Uhcy
aud Teuysou have filed 1t il succession II was shad-
well the successor of D ydcn who guIatcd the
ulyersary ode the birthday OF the kms-a production
which was always tedious and a complete collection OF
which would prove The most battling series OF works in
verse that was ever presented t. patient rade' OF
the fourteen lduredtes only five ret IN Westminster
Abbey. and they ale Jon,ou. Ddvenaut Dryden, Rowe
aud Clbbpr.