New-York tribune., 1903-02-09
LITERARY NOTES.


under the title OF The Book Buyer has been
more or less transformed. and the February
number appears under new name, Inc
Lamp" The intention is. evidently, to improve
the magazine by making it shade more seri-
ous though the lighter features have NOT
baen abandoned The entertaining paragraphs
printed under the head Of The Rambler are
retained. but they are relegated TO the pages ST
the back an article ''Macaulays First Es-
say" by Professor Wilbur /. Cross. taking their
usual place. An autobiographicai sketch OF
Professor weismann is included, and there are
other similarly interesting contributions most
Of them Of some length. Illustrations, as
hitherto. are freely used and the cover, which
bears an artistic design, is new one
The Grolser Club continues its exhibition OF
one hundred famous books. At the recent
monthly meeting Mr.. Hamilton Wright MaOle
gave a talk about them. He said that his SEN
sations on receiving an invitation from the cluo
10 make an address the subject OF the eN-
hfhit recalled to him the probable emotions OF
NapoIeon's soldiers in Egypt when they were
told TO remember that thirty centuries looked
down upon them. He reflected, III the midst OF
The hundred books from THE Canterbury Tales
70 snow Bound" that all of English literature
was looking down upon him in more senses
sbar cne In the course of his remarks ne
rointed out that the twofold character OF Eng
fish though;-the mixture of the Celtic dreamer
and John Bull. pursuer Of fact. so often SUM
bling block TO foreign critics-was renecteo III
American letters in the authors OF POOR h1ch-
ards AImanack' and the essay on Nature
-7-1,a,e we-e many moments in literary history,
he .tougbt- at which one might wish TO nave
beea present. listening 10 the talk
The things said when the wits gathered al
the Mermaid. in Stakespeare's day; the nlael-
;csl tark of Coleridee-perhaps when not dull,
the most magical OF English takers; 'he aus
course OF those two blunt Englishmen, seated
.n clouds Of tobacco smoke before a blazing
hearth in Cheyne Row. Carlyle and Tennyson
downright on both sides. and almost too earnest
for reporting-this was all talk that would nave
been worth hearing. And yet perhaps the
-a-est evening of all might have been spent
with Samuel johnson, the domlneeTing leHlCos-
-apher. never at q loss for the mt word ana
seldom failing TO have the last one No other
literature Mr. Mabie said. reflected TO sucn
degree as the English the history and growth OF
ffs race. He had the most sanguine hopes 'idI
she trs;t of sane wholesome Interpretation OF
life which did not extend the province OF art
70 the portrayal Of ali nature, but made some
,--,tssions for the sake Of spiritual propriety,
,ro,,,s continue TO preserve in the literature Of
she English speaking races their idealism ano
health
Only two more volumes remain TO De pup
pshed in the series Of twenty-four in which Mr..
George Z. Sproul is bringing cut a new eoluoh
OF the complete works of Theophile Gautier,
translated and edited by Professor T. {. DE
surnichrist. of Harvard. We have recently re-
,eived the twenty-frst and twenty-second vol
,,-,es botb devoted to the short tales. The nrst
NJ +hase opeus with 'Militona," a souvenir OF
the Spanish bull ring. 'The Nighdngales' one
of Gautiers more ingenious performances Is
then given, and this is followed by some OF MS
pages Of eighteenth century trifing, The Mar
chioness's Lap Dog" The volume concIuoes
with "Omphale" a story In fantastic vein
Jack and JILL one Of his cleverest olts Oh
.,or7edv. opens the twenty-second volume; it Is
followed by another fantasy, The Thousand
and Second Night" and the rest Of the space
is given 70 Elias wildmanstadius," and two
satiricsl pieces Daniel Toward" and ''The
Bowl OF Punch.
The Macmillan Company issues who's Who"
for 1903 with a good many more pages In 1t
thsn have been put into any Of it's predecessors
The increase in the size Of the book has caused
some Of the miscellaneous tables TO be removed,
1,7,+ these can be spared for the sake OF the
added biographical matter. Those who insist
upon having the material that has been omitted,
moreover, have only TO possess their souls In
ratience. The publishers indicate that they may
reissue the tables IN book by themselves In
the mean time Who's who remains an indis-
pensable compendium. We note in this new
volume substantial increase in the number
Of American names.
The firth of the seven volumes in which Dou-
bieday. Page & Co. are publishing THE Vari-
syr11rn and Defnitive Edition of the Poetical and
Prose =, r. ngs Of Edward FitzGerald" has Just
appeared. II is devoted to THE Mighty Magi-
cian'' and such Stuff as Dreams Are Made
Of" with extracts from FitzGeraids letters re-
1stins to these dramas and the anthology in
xhicl, he was so Interested "Polonius: Col
lection OF Wise Saws and Modern Instances
We have already paid tribute to the luxurious
form given TO this edition, and to the good
sudgmert with which Mr.. George Bentham has
exercised editorial supervision over its prepara-
zion. There IS nothing new in the volume before
us, save a note referring TO the anthology just
mentioned Taken from copy inscribed Ger
aid FftzGerald, from Compiler Edward FftzGer-
aid now ir possession of Mr.. E A Denham,
Of this city the note runs: The Part of Hamlet
zas omitted from Polonius-I mean Michel de
Montaigne Of whom have since added a few
commentaries. A little collection CT Aphorisms
from him paris, 1888 is one Of the few Books
OF the sort that have found readable"
20. o." that indefatigable English conmen-
4a5or on literary topics. in whom we suppose
we are TO recognize "A Man Of Kent which
is TO say. DR.. W. Robertson Nicoll has just
delivered himself OF a characteristcally oracular
observation. Though brief ii says a good deal.
1T is worth noting" he remarks. that the
chief popular periodicals are once more going
IN for huge pecuniary prizes"
The fortieth volume OF Outing" embracing
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