The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-04-08

with whom I had come face to face
he was then so years OF age. After
I became acquainted with most
OF mis- eminent contemporaries and my
own-with Wordsworth, Coieridge. |
Scott, Moore. Campbell. Tennyson, md
among poets; among his |
with HaIlam, Macauiay .Froude
Carlyle, and Lecky: among statesmen
with all, I think, who were ccnspicu-
GUS except Canning. Brougham
Dfsraeli, and I have found none VINO
combined with intellectual pre-emi-
nence so much OF what was personally
attractive"
Sir Henry wrote many books Among
them We may name a poem entitled
Edwin, the Fair" a volume OF essays
entitled THE Statesman" Notes from
Books" and The Virgin Widow" a
romantic comedy. All were read more
letters.
One of h new volumes just out is
Gladstone and Other Addresses" 10y
Rev. Kerr Boyce Topper, DID. LID.
Another volume Is entitled John Rus
kin: His Life and Teachings" by T.
NJ. Mather. Still another volume Of
essays is by John Jay Chapman. We
have read but one of the essays. Judg-
ing mainly from the opinions Of north
ern critics, particularly The Atlantic
Monthly and r. III. Stoddard, the poet
editor, this volume Of Mr.. Chapman's
Is a very striking literary performance,
and will give him permanent fame
among American essayists. He has
possibly butt one or two rivals. Anoth-
ed interesting and welcome publication,
in two volumes, is Selections from the
Greek Lyric Poets" edited by Herbert
w. Smith. It you do not own Symonds's
mastery work on The Greek Poets,'
| you would do well to avail yourself OF
these selections. In England an origf-
nal, piquant, able volume upon Charles
| Dickens, entitled "A Critical Study"
has but recently been issued. Tt is by
a distinguished novelist, OF high gifts,
George Gissing. we have classed
Dickens for forty years with Scott,
Thackeray and MARY Ann Evans
("George Eliot" as the greatest Eng
| ItSll 1pON cllSuS. w hIOW ClIcIc are LINZ
lish critics of the better kind who would
class Harry Fielding with them, and
| ONE would put him first. But this
writer would put no writer of amy
| country ahead of Walter Scott. He
has written more really great" novels
than any other fictive writer in the
/ Valhalla of the world.
"The Journals Of Walter White la
tely published in England, states that
Charles Kingsley declared that Dick
ens's Christmas stories were gloomy
and depressing" Carlyle found even
plorious "Pickwick" very melan-
choly." The great writer had one of his
most violent attacks, evidently, of dy-
| spepsia, when he said he had rats in
his stomach grinding away. "a mans
| views are colored often by the state
OF his liver and h Stomach trouble"
IA life of Robert Ferguson, a Scotch
| poet, has just been sent forth. 1t is
by A. B. G~rosart, and is one of the
Famous Scotch Series now appearing.
Ferguson was aus poor as Burns, and
1uIIlSIleu uue greater poet VINO came
after with help in the right place. Lon
don "Literature'' says OF this
lively unknown poet to people now-a-
days:
"Fergusson's place is that OF a Scot
lsh v~ernacular poet of the highest
promise, who, i'm his path eticallylshort
life, displayed a quality OF humour, a
freshness of natural feeling, and a gift
OF picturesque n vigorous expression
which even his greater successor has
not surpassed, n who with developed
powers might we'll have rivalled him
in pathos and passion. AS for Fergus
sons relation to Burns, it is tina of a.
creditor ito a debtor rwTho amply and
frankly acknowledged a debt which too
many of his compatriots have ungen-
erously repudiated."
Dickens, like Scott, holds his own
We'll now. There are no less than three
new volumes recently published that
are concerned with the great novelist.
We note with pleasure that 'Titera-
ture" writes it differ from him"