The Washington herald., 1907-10-20
GOSSIP OF THE LITERARY WORLD,

one Of the most interesting literary
publications of the year will be the Let
tcrs of Queen Victoria" which are 90 be
issued this month simultaneously in Eng
land and the United States. On this side
Longmans, Green & Co. are the publish
ers. The volumes will cover the Queens
correspondence between the years 1887
and 1861 They are published by authority
of the King her son, and have been ed
tied by YiscOnt Esher. q. c. Y. O., X.
c. B.. assisted by G. \. c. Benson. The
work will be in three volumes The frst
Of these volumes covers the correspond
ence of the Queen till the age Of nearly
twenty-five. We see her first a princess,
and young Queen. under the guidance
Of "a couTtly and cAivalrOus premier: we
see her called upon to select a husband
of her own choice. a prince who with
deep sense Of responsibility combined a
wide and exact political knowledge. With
new ministers. 10 whom she had been in
stincuveiy opposed, considerable difficult
ties arose but the personal antipathy
WAS soon overcome; throughout the cour-
try the crown became every year more
popular. but there were angry mutter-
ings OF discomfort and risings against long
hours OF labor and dear food. while Ire
land was fun Of sedition and agitation.
The second volume covers the period
dealing with the repeal Of the corn laws.
the foreign revolutions, Of which the most
sensational incident will perhaps be found
to be the story Of the fight Of Louis
Philippe to Ncwhaven, the disruption Of
the old Whig party. and the fasco Of
chartism- II was a time of wild spccula-
ton in railway shares. and sensational
discoveries Of gold in Australia. But
even the commercial panic Of 1917 could
not destroy the steady improvement In
the condition of the people and the in
crease Of its capital The Queens corre-
spondence with her ministers shows how
closely in touch she was with the varied
interests Of her subjects. and her letters
to King Leopold indicate her deep inter
est in European politics. from the mou-
archical point of view. The third Of the
three volumes Of correspondence deals
with the Eastern question, the Crimean
war, the Indian mutiny, entafling the
transfer Of the government Of India TO
the crown; the China war, the Franco
Austrian war. and the struggle for a
united Italy. The selection terminates
with the prince consorts life.
Here is the record of book popularity
at the Public Library for the past week:
NonfCuion-ArnOm's Compendium OF
Chemistry" Thorndike's Principles of
Teaching" Fiction-Burnhams Opened
Shutters. Parker's 'Weavers." Juvenile
books-Alcott's Rose In Bloom" Wards
Betty Wales. Junior. This library has
been paying much attention to engineer
ing and other chronological books. and
this attention is being reflected in the cir
culation. One very popular subject dur
ing the past week was that Of electrical
engineering. The books in special de-
mand were HObarts Electric Motors"
and Behrend's Induction Motors" Books
on the fine arts are also in much de-
mand Two that were often called for
during the past week were Muthers His
tory Of Modern Painting ard Sturgis'
How to Judge Architecture"
The fiction serial of the Century in 1908
will be a new historical novel by DR.. s
Weir Mitchell, to be entitled The Red
City" It Is described as a companion
story TO Hugh Wynne" While the for
mer vas a story of the time Of Washing
ton the General, the new one is of the
time of Washington the President.
The Mcclure Company have just issued
q new Illustrated edition Of the Poems
Of Wordsworth" edited by DIT. StopforI
A. Brooke The volume contains all the
shorter work which in Or. Brooke's esti-
nation is worthy Of the poets high repu-
tation.
The J. B. Lippincott Company will pub
lish shortly Mrs. A. L. Wister's transIa-
tions from the German of Adolf Streck-
fuss. The Lonely House" with ilIustra-
tions in color by Charlotte Weber Ditz-
Ter. It has been some fifteen years since
Mrs. Wister's last translation, and it may
not be generally known that over a mil
hon copies Of her books have been sold in
this country. a third edition of Fogaz-
zaro's novel The Woman" is an
A novel by the venerable author of
Rutledge," the best seller" Of half a