Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-01-09
THE YEAR IN= LITER4FURE

not reveal many land marks in novels, romances, poetry or essays, either at home or abroad, notwith- standing the flood of books which seems to be increasing year by year, says the Chicago Record Accord ing to the census of 1890 the publi- cation business of the United States pays wages to the amount of $69, GOO, 900 a year, in round mum. bers, and few, except those whose business brings them in direct con tact with the output of the publish ing trade, have any idea of its eX
 tent and variety outside the news papers and magazines. The num- Der of books and the variety of sub iects upon which books are written seems to increase every year, but of the major part of these the muse of history takes no account. As Charles Dudley Warner, in his re gently published volume of essays, says, literature is nothing if not
 che expression of contemporaneous life, a remark, however, that needs qualification. This eontemporaae-
 ous life is carried forward in the general movement of literature
 much as an army advances by lines
 of individual soldiers. The rank
 and file are necessary, but ia a
 survey of results in history only
 the heroes and generals are specially
 designated.
 Look at the matter in this philoso-
 phical way it becomes possible to speak of this literary output of the
 year without any missgiyings as to omissions or any ambition toward
 eatalogue-making Thus in fiction,
 while the number of stories, novels
 and romanees is as usual legion at
 home and abroad, those which have
 at least produced something of
 stir in the literary world are not difficult of enumeration. Among
 these, but not, of course, including all, are Mr Harold Frederic's SThe Damnation of Theron Ware" and
 March Flares, in which is shown
 union of journalist and novelist
 that caught the public's attention.
 Mir. Marion Crawford, of course, we
 always have with us, and there seems to be no reason why we may not expect our usual novel from his hands every six months for years to come, unless, indeed, he sould at last conclude that writing too much is not good plan and settle down
 to less emphemeral work. Mir
 Henry James Embarrassment" shows his literary art to good ad-
 vantage, but like his. story, "The Other House, can scarcely be said
 to rise even to his former level. Mir. Howells has not claimed attention except by two interesting short stories, while Mark Twain in Joan of Arc has essayed new field, as has also Mv Henry B. Fuller in his "Puppet Booth. Miss Murfree's
 The Mystery of Witoh-Face Noun tain has much of the charm of the stories that made her famous, but indicates no notable advance. of other writers of fiction Gilbert Parker's The Seats of the Mighty is probably to be regarded as an ad- vance on "When Valmond Came to Pontiac, which is to say is a book 1 well worth reading even in this day of many books Mrs. Ward, in Sir George Tessady,' has given us another of the finished works of art { the public has come to expect from her. and Walter Pater's admirers will gladly add his "Gaston de La tour to list of works now closed. Barrie, Crockett, Black Besant, Doyle and Ian Maelaren7 have divided the honors of the English fiction with Ms. Ward, Mrs. Bur nett, and, perhaps, Marie Corelli in a descending scale.
 ffu poetry but iittle that passes the ordinary has claimed attention turing the year, the most notableI perhaps being the sonnets of Will jam Watson on Armenia and Kip { ing's latest volume, The Seven Seas. The death of William Morris caves Algenon Charles Swinburnel he sole survivor of the greater poets of the Victorian age, and thel