LITERARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 12, 14 January 1905, Page 10

LITERARY.

An exceptionally fine Christmas number is issued with "The Windsor Magazine" this year. The cover is beautifully printed in colour and gold. An •ixcellent photogravure plate, "St. George and the Dragon.'' forms a frontispiece, and there are sixteen exquisite reproductions of Sir Edward J. Poynter's famous pictures. The first instalment of "Ayesha," the long expected sequel to "She," by Eider Haggard, appears, and there are twenty humorous drawings by Phil May, illustrating "Songs and their Singers." Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Zangwill, Barry Pain, Ethel Turner, and others are included, as are illustrated articles by able writers.

i The Christmas number of "CasselFs ; Magazine" makes a feature of fourteen illustrations, beautifully reproduced in colour, from the original drawings by C. Wilhelm, under the title, '"The Pleasure Garden: A Phantasy." The literary contents are the work of a powerful combination of talent—Max Pemberton. W. Petfc Ridge, J. A. Hammerton, Robert ftarr, Harry Furniss. Guy Boothby, William Le Qufiiix, Clifford Ash down, and others. It is altogether a happy combination of stories—grave and humorous, interesting , sketches, and clever pictorial display. Max Pemberton commences an historical romance of the fateful Napoleonic Hundred Daj>B.

It was fitting that the exquisite spiritual poems of Christina Rosetti should be included in ilacmiflan's CJolden Treasury series. The volume now issued consists of a selection by her brother. William M. Rosetti, of the poet's best work. In an interesting preface the editor institutes a syrapathetic but discerning compari.son between the poetical ■vorks of his gifted brother and sister. He considers that Christina's poems, though more restricted in scope to thoee of Dante Gabriel, were by no means inferior to his. "For limpid freshness of feeling," he says. "Christina stands the higher; for depth of feeling she cannot be called the lower, though she is less obviously passion-wrung in the stress and coil of circumstance."

"The Dream of Peace," by Francis Gribble (Un win's Colonial Library). t,-ikes for its theme the exhaustless topic of war—its appeal to human passion, its debasing power, and sheer brutality. The story is a description of that inconspicuous but momentous incident of the Franeo-Gexman War. Bourbake's abortive march for the relief of Bplfort. and his disastrous retirement before Manteuffel, until Iris army was forced across the Swiss frontier. The central figure in th-e story is ihe daughter of a French colonel, whose affections before the outbreak of the war were pretty evenly divided between a young Frenchman and a G-erman officer. Both take their part in the war on opposite sides, and upon some of its notable incidents are hung a story which, if taken to heart by humanity, should advance the cau«<e of universal peace.

That invaluable standard publication, Whitaker's Almanac reaches its 37th anniversary with ibis year's volume. But every issue shows some useful addition to its store of information. The book, with supplement, comprises 792 pages of closely-printed matter, which, in addition to calendars for the year, contains, in carefully condensed form, information with regard to every department of the English public service—civil, military, naval, and judicial—the Church and religious bodies, universities, colleges and schools, societies and insti i tutions, banks and banking, commercial statistics, an epitome of t"he Governments and fiscal statistics of the leading countries of the world, trade statistics of the United Kingdom for a series of years. Included in the work also are a peerage of the United Kingdom, members of the House of Commons, and electoral statistics, Parliamentary summary for 1904, epitome of remarkable occurrences, racing, aquatic and athletic events, commercial and educational summaries, railway and shipping statistics —in fact, there are few topics of a commercial character affecting the British Empire about which this book does not afford some useful information. The book is published by Whitaker and Sons, Ltd., 12, Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row, London.

"Whitaker's Peerage" for 1905 is a very complete directory of titled persons in the United Kingdom. It gives full details of titles and offices, and members of titled families in the direct line, together -with near relatives, and an index to country seat?. For ordinary purposes of reference this book will be found to serve all the purposes of the larger and more costly peerages, and it is kept up-to-date. The "Pall Mall Magazines" Christmas Number opens with a poem by Sir Lewis Morris on the birth of Christ, which wilt take rank with the poet's best work. We quote the two closing stanzas: —

Age though rpon's carelessness refnse to hear; Though War not Peace shall reign. Scorning the victories of Wrong and Fear, The secular cries of Pain. Still shail our sonls, content beneath His sway. Await the fuller day. Broa&eu, fnir light, that with this dawn was born. To noon, to perfpet Day! Still for our toiling race, 'tis early morn, Light tb'.inph. the difficult v»ay. Though othor suns havu pet; rise high! Shine bright! Till falls Creation's Night! The other contents of the number are noteworthy. '"A Secret of Olympos,' , a mystic story, beautifully illustrated, comes from the pen of William Waldorf Astor. Madame Gabriello Rejane and Miss Marie Corel] i are the subjects of two interesting studies in personality, freely illustrated by photographs. Mr Ruddman Johnston contributes one of the best short accounts we have read of the Jap. at home, and the other contents are equally well selected. It. is announced that, beginning with the January number, the price of the "Pall Mall Magazine" will be sixpence net, without any alteration in the standard of the literary or artistic contents.

Australia has been fortunate in the group of poets, prose writers, and artists who have esaayed to depict the life of the country. Considering the briefness of its national existence, and the meagreness of its population, the land of the blue gum and the kangaroo has indeed paced many remarkable achievements to its credit, in literature, music, art, and physical development. The country has given ample evidence that its people will be quick intellectually as well as vigorous physically. Among the writers who have done for Australia what Bret Harte did for California is "Steele Eudd," whose pictures of country life are humorous and truthful. In his latest book, ".Sandy's Selection," Ihe happy-go-lucky life of a working settler on 160 acres of land infested with every Australian pest, animal and vegetable, is depicted with the knowledge of one to whom the Australian bush is a familiar -thing. Forty clever pen and ink sketches illustrate the narrative. The book has been published by the New Sonth Wales Bookstall Company, 861, George-street, Sydney.