The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-31

an reign, and his name was 1pelt In
more than a dozen different ways, we
think The above style OF spelling his
iieve now prevails in his native land.
Anon recent novels in England those
mentioned with most favor are Law
n Clavering," by A. e. w. Mason,
an historical romance after the man
ner of Scott, as is said 10 be a good
one IL Mason is not a Sir Walter. The
Gadfiy." by E. L. voynish, pronounced
a powerful and distinctly agitating
story" a notable" by as high authori-
ty as London LITERATURE" M Cog
lione." by Marion Crawford.
By the a Literature" rakes Ham,
lin Garland's recent volume of stories
published by Appleton, called Way
side Stories" It damns and ridicuIes
the performance. Garland is a western
writer OF much p~re,ension and some
famboyant gifts and imaginative We
hemence.
The Westminster Review. one of
England's great ofd Quarterlies, in a
very interesting discussion recently of
Crime in Current Literature" Incl
dentally said, When Shakespeare and
Scott have again to remind US. not so
much OF their own giant power and
profuse wealth as of the weakness n
poverty of resource Of a dw-arfing race
Of writer's"
Mr.. Theodore Wastts (now known as
/ Watts-Dunton, with the inevitable
separating hyphen) is a tree poet and
an admirable pros writer, particular
1y in criticism. He has just published
a volume entitled The Coming OF Love
and Other POEMS" which is poetry, if
we may judge, by some specimens we
have seen given. He has metrical
skill. choice utterance, fine thoughts
music, Inspiration, imaginative glow
and breadth, and ~pervasive solidity.
He is clearly one of the best of present
English poets.
When American newspapers and
publishers assert that Hugh Wynne''
is the best novel of the year 1897, they
forget, possibly, that "Quo Vadis" APP
peared this year.. Others, too, might
possibly be suggested as a rival of the
Philadelphia production.
We have referred before to Mr.. Ed
mund Gosse's "Literatures of the
World" which he edits and plans. and
to which he contributes Modern Eng
1ish Literature" just published. We
noted the publication of two volumes
of the series, that by Professor Ed
ward Dowden, on French Literature
hat by Professor Gilbert Murray,
on Greek Literature" Professor
Dowden is of the University of Dublin,
and is a very able writer and man of
letters. He is professor of English.
Professor Murray has the chair of
Greek in the University of Glasgow.
Of Professor Dowden's book, The Lon
don "Athenaeum,'' a very high author
1ty, says that it is certainly the
best history of French literature in
the English language" OF Professor
Murray's work, The London Times
said, that it is "a book that fairly rep
resents the best conclusions of modern
scholarship with regard to the Greeks"
OF Mr.. Gosse's book, The London Lit
erature" for November 9th, has high
est words of commentator. It dis
cusses its merits in an article that
would fill a column I'M a half, per-
haps, Of The Messenger. We have
often expressed our admiration of him
as a writer of very superior art and a
critic of very marked excellence. No
living critic or author surpasses him
in his sketches of literary ~notables. He
has a marvellous touch, a rare charm,
a great felicity in saying the right
thing in the finest manner
By the way, Literature" in reviewing
in it's issue Of the 9Th of November,
Rev. DR.. H. P. Liddon's Life of the
very celebrated, and really very able,
Rev. DR.. Edward B. Pussy, refers to
him as having a character which
seems never to fail in patient dignity,
in meek endurance, and in whole
hearted devotion to the cause of right
e~ousness and truth" We notice in the
same issue i'm an article on Robert
Burns it has this: "They had to pro-
vide the southron reader" etc. Tt has
been common with us Through many
years ito write of the men of our section
as "Southrons."
If amy one doubts the ability OF
George Meredith, the celebrated novel
list, to write true poetry, let him read
his Love in the Valley" which is GER
tain to live for many generations, we
would suppose.
We rejoice that there is a great deal
more in literature than the novel. We
are of that number who are made
glad with the knowledge hat there are
still uch things, to quote an English
man of recent date, "as history, biog-
raphy, poetry, philosophy, travel, criti-
cism, essays" Long may they survive!